Many of our followers on social media will remember Mary Huckle and her tireless campaigning for #metastaticbreastcancer awareness. This blog post is the last content she wrote for us, a
The Irony of Metastatic Breast Cancer – Mary Huckle
Being invisible on a cancer ward…
Tassia Haines – METUPUK (Wales) member, patient advocate & fantastic artist. Back in February, I had to go into hospital after side effects from being on Trodelvy. I wanted
Mental Health and Metastatic Breast Cancer
The human brain is hardwired to seek out danger. It’s part of being human, an inbuilt survival mechanism designed to protect us. Normal functioning of the mind enables us to
Drug access – drug hope vs financial approval…
I contacted METUPUK when I was diagnosed as a primary patient in 2018. Even though my mum died of secondary breast cancer in 2015 I had no real understanding of the metastatic disease and the challenges patients face getting access to the treatment they need.
How smarter therapies can help metastatic breast cancer patients – and why we need more!
At METUPUK, we campaign for new and better therapies for patients with secondary breast cancer. One of our recent campaigns, #TrodelvyNow helped to make a new type of drug, Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) available for SBC patients in the UK. Scientist and METUPUK volunteer, Helen, explains how Trodelvy works and why it’s important that more drugs like this get to patients urgently.
My Journey to Alpelisib
Oh how I wished it was a walking journey! That I could deal with! But in the last 6 months my oncologist’s quest to get me to have this PIKC3A targeted drug, was admirable, and left us on a roller coaster of emotions.
Statistics for Metastatic Breast Cancer
We started our campaign in Metastatic May with some information about treatment lines and it really caused a bit of a stir, especially on Instagram.
Why? Because people don’t want to think that this disease is going to kill us. We have to remain positive. We have to see the chink of light and I agree we all have to have hope. That was my introduction. We need hope.
Drugs, Drugs, Drugs
I think sometimes when those outside the cancer world imagine what treatment is like they think we go in, have some chemo, take some photos dancing around our IV pole and then go home and rest for a few days…. And don’t get me wrong I’m one of those people who have taken a cheeky chemo selfie and donned numerous items of leopard print to get me through those loooooooong days in the chemo ward, it’s like armour for what is essentially ritual poisoning!
A Real Life Accounts of Accessing Clinical Trials
In 2018 I was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in my liver, I was 44.
I knew the survival statistics were grim, so decided from the outset, in order to outlive the 2 to 3-year median I’d have to embrace experimental drugs and treatments.
I made this clear during my first oncology appointment, telling my doctor I was keen to sign up for clinical trials right from the start.