Do you know about advanced breast cancer?
A new advanced breast cancer campaign, Here & Now, has been launched to help reduce the fact that 77% of people don’t know that it’s incurable.
New findings from a public survey commissioned by Novartis Oncology have revealed that although 81% of UK respondents are aware that early breast cancer can be treated so that a patient is free from disease, 77% of respondents were either unsure or did not know that advanced breast cancer cannot be treated so that the patient can become free from the disease.
As well as this, one in five of respondents in the UK don’t know or are unable to correctly define advanced breast cancer.
Victoria Harmer, Team Leader/Clinical Nurse Specialist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, says: “Research has shown that women with advanced breast cancer often feel isolated from those having treatment for early breast cancer. To ensure we’re sufficiently supporting women with advanced breast cancer in the UK, we need to build awareness and understanding of the disease so that together we can overcome any barriers to optimal patient care. I welcome the launch of the Here & Now campaign; it’s a critical step in changing the current landscape for those with advanced breast cancer.”
The findings are released this week to mark the pan-European launch of the advanced breast cancer disease awareness campaign Here & Now, which aims to improve care and support for this often overlooked group of patients.
As part of the campaign launch, the breast cancer community gathered in Brussels for an exclusive viewing of a sound installation called I am not the cancer. The installation conveys the real-life experiences of women with advanced breast cancer and features the moving story of a patient from the UK.
Panos Alexakos, Oncology General Manager, Novartis UK & Ireland, commented: “Advanced breast cancer is an incurable disease that affects over 30,00 women across the UK. We have launched the Here & Now campaign to illustrate the realities for women living with the disease and we hope to uncover insights into the disease and the societal contributions of these women that have not previously been explored on this scale. By securing an in-depth understanding of the disease landscape, we can work together towards providing patients with the support they require.”
Tagged in Breast Cancer Health Women's Health