https://metupuk.org.uk/latest-news/ News, campaign updates and blog posts from MET UP UK. en-GB https://metupuk.org.uk/2025/05/speaking-up-to-be-heard-my-journey-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-and-the-power-of-self-advocacy/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2025/05/speaking-up-to-be-heard-my-journey-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-and-the-power-of-self-advocacy/ Mon, 19 May 2025 21:59:27 GMT When people talk about fighting cancer, they often speak in terms of courage, strength, and resilience. But one word I wish we talked about more—especially in the beginning—is self-advocacy. Because… https://metupuk.org.uk/2025/02/how-do-we-get-better-outcomes-and-survival-for-metastatic-breast-cancer/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2025/02/how-do-we-get-better-outcomes-and-survival-for-metastatic-breast-cancer/ Sun, 02 Feb 2025 23:30:06 GMT I watched with interest the phenomenal feat by Lucy Gossage founder of 5K Your Way (Move Against Cancer podcast) and winner of the 2025 Spine Race which is an ultra endurance run from Edale,… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/11/trustees-week-by-madeleine-meynell/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/11/trustees-week-by-madeleine-meynell/ Wed, 06 Nov 2024 10:17:37 GMT The week of 4-8 November 2024 is set aside to celebrate the work of nearly 1 million trustees volunteering for charities across the UK. Trustees are individuals responsible for the governance of a… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/why-i-volunteer-with-metupuk/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/why-i-volunteer-with-metupuk/ Wed, 30 Oct 2024 22:51:22 GMT I was diagnosed with primary breast cancer in 2015, and it all felt like a terrible mistake. I was 43, in my final year of an optometry degree and already had a job lined up to go to after I… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/im-a-51-year-old-nhs-nurse-and-18-months-ago-i-was-told-i-had-mbc/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/im-a-51-year-old-nhs-nurse-and-18-months-ago-i-was-told-i-had-mbc/ Tue, 29 Oct 2024 23:30:05 GMT Be confident that you know your body: I am a 51-year-old NHS nurse and 18 months ago was told that I had metastatic breast cancer spreading to my spine, lungs, hip and breastbone amongst other… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/i-remember-the-22nd-april-2021-very-clearly/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/i-remember-the-22nd-april-2021-very-clearly/ Mon, 28 Oct 2024 20:47:11 GMT Non dying quick enough for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) I remember the 22nd April 2021 very clearly, it was the day after I had been diagnosed straight to stage 4 (de novo) breast cancer. I… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/life-has-a-way-of-throwing-curveballs-when-you-least-expect-it/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/life-has-a-way-of-throwing-curveballs-when-you-least-expect-it/ Mon, 28 Oct 2024 01:24:34 GMT Standing by her side Life has a way of throwing curveballs when you least expect it. For us, it came in the form of three words that changed everything: “You have cancer.” Hearing those words… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/wales-update/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/wales-update/ Sat, 26 Oct 2024 23:01:10 GMT As many of you know, our beautiful Welsh dragon, Tassia Haines sadly died in March 2024. Tass touched thousands of lives across the globe, with her informed, honest, humbling, passionate and… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/easter-2017-i-went-for-a-mammogram/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/easter-2017-i-went-for-a-mammogram/ Fri, 25 Oct 2024 21:18:49 GMT Easter 2017, I went for a mammogram as my GP had referred me by the 2-week rule to have investigation work on a fatty mass I had felt. This was like a small, cooked chicken fillet with a dimple… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/breast-cancer-is-the-most-diagnosed-of-all-cancers-worldwide/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/breast-cancer-is-the-most-diagnosed-of-all-cancers-worldwide/ Fri, 25 Oct 2024 15:02:25 GMT We are very much minding the gap! Breast Cancer is the most diagnosed of ALL cancers worldwide. In the United Kingdom, Metastatic Breast Cancer is the biggest killer of working age women aged 35 –64… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/data-delivering-advancements-through-action/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/data-delivering-advancements-through-action/ Wed, 23 Oct 2024 21:02:15 GMT Delivering Advancements Through Action Imagine a metastatic (secondary) breast cancer community within the UK where everybody within it who has ever heard the words, ‘it’s incurable’, is counted and… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/data-collection-for-metastatic-breast-cancer/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/data-collection-for-metastatic-breast-cancer/ Tue, 22 Oct 2024 21:59:07 GMT Kat wrote this blog for Metastatic May but we feel it should be shared again for Breast Cancer Awareness Month as data is a major problem and something that really needs to be addressed. Just shy of… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/the-patience-and-patients-of-clinical-trials/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/the-patience-and-patients-of-clinical-trials/ Mon, 21 Oct 2024 21:54:28 GMT Clinical trials are one of those things that no one really cares about until you need to. In the UK we have a pretty impressive cancer trial landscape that’s recognised as being in the top tier in… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/after-living-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-for-over-3-years/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/after-living-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-for-over-3-years/ Sun, 20 Oct 2024 22:32:01 GMT Stage 4 shouldn’t be a label that says “treat differently” After living with Metastatic Breast Cancer for over 3 years, I am very familiar with the terms and definitions surrounding us. Stage 4,… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/it-shouldnt-be-this-hard-that-was-a-comment-on-my-twitter-thread/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/it-shouldnt-be-this-hard-that-was-a-comment-on-my-twitter-thread/ Fri, 18 Oct 2024 21:33:17 GMT Clinical trials are essential for testing new treatments for metastatic breast cancer (MBC). For patients, they represent hope – the chance to get access to a new potential treatment before it is… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/having-just-completed-screening-for-a-clinical-trial-i-must-initiate-this-discussion/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/having-just-completed-screening-for-a-clinical-trial-i-must-initiate-this-discussion/ Thu, 17 Oct 2024 22:57:54 GMT Having just completed screening for a clinical trial I must initiate this discussion. Trials offer treatments not otherwise available – so with limited treatments available, it’s without question… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/accessing-clinical-trials-is-a-minefield/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/accessing-clinical-trials-is-a-minefield/ Wed, 16 Oct 2024 22:21:36 GMT Accessing clinical trials is a minefield: firstly, you need to find a trial that you are eligible for, which can include factors such as your cancer sub-type, the receptors you carry or don’t carry,… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/in-our-recent-metastatic-may-campaign-the-theme-was-the-cost-of-living/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/in-our-recent-metastatic-may-campaign-the-theme-was-the-cost-of-living/ Tue, 15 Oct 2024 22:22:19 GMT In our recent Metastatic May campaign, the theme was ‘The Cost of Living’. Living with metastatic breast cancer affects personal finances, careers, and overall income. But we also explored the… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/according-to-cancer-research-uk-approximately-one-in-five-of-all-new-female-breast-cancer-cases-are-under-the-age-50/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/according-to-cancer-research-uk-approximately-one-in-five-of-all-new-female-breast-cancer-cases-are-under-the-age-50/ Mon, 14 Oct 2024 21:47:21 GMT According to Cancer Research UK, approximately one in five of all new female breast cancer cases are under the age 50 and around half are between 35 – 64… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/treatement-lines-and-herceptin-for-her2-metastatic-breast-cancer/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/treatement-lines-and-herceptin-for-her2-metastatic-breast-cancer/ Sun, 13 Oct 2024 22:22:41 GMT Any patient with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) will be familiar with the concept of ‘treatment lines’. Unlike primary breast cancer, where you undergo chemotherapy for a fixed time period, after… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/13th-october-metastatic-secondary-breast-cancer-day-redefining-mbc/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/13th-october-metastatic-secondary-breast-cancer-day-redefining-mbc/ Sat, 12 Oct 2024 20:53:06 GMT A friend a few weeks ago recently joined the statistic of 31 women that die every day of metastatic breast cancer, and we just hear the same words and comments. “She was brave and inspirational; she… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/do-you-remember-what-you-were-wearing-on-1-december-2019-probably-not-i-do/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/do-you-remember-what-you-were-wearing-on-1-december-2019-probably-not-i-do/ Fri, 11 Oct 2024 23:26:45 GMT METUPUK patient advocate Carole describes her experience of whole brain radiation for suspected leptomeningeal disease (LMD). Do you remember what you were wearing on 1 December 2019? Probably not. I… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/asha-died-in-march-2024-she-wrote-this-blog-explaining-the-problems-that-she-experienced-trying-to-access-a-drug/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/asha-died-in-march-2024-she-wrote-this-blog-explaining-the-problems-that-she-experienced-trying-to-access-a-drug/ Thu, 10 Oct 2024 22:46:38 GMT Asha died in March 2024. She wrote this blog, explaining the problems that she experienced trying to access a drug that she was ineligible for, because she fell outside of the treatment lines… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/i-contacted-metupuk-when-i-was-diagnosed-as-a-primary-patient-in-2018/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/i-contacted-metupuk-when-i-was-diagnosed-as-a-primary-patient-in-2018/ Wed, 09 Oct 2024 23:59:08 GMT I contacted METUPUK when I was diagnosed as a primary patient in 2018. Even though my mum died of Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) in 2015, I had no real understanding of the “metastatic disease” and… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/i-think-im-officially-a-long-term-metastatic-breast-cancer-survivor/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/i-think-im-officially-a-long-term-metastatic-breast-cancer-survivor/ Wed, 09 Oct 2024 00:48:56 GMT What price survival? I think I’m officially a long-term metastatic breast cancer survivor. I mean I have just passed five years since diagnosis and when I looked up the average it was 3-5 years, so I… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/primary-breast-cancer-tends-to-fill-breast-cancer-awareness-month/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/primary-breast-cancer-tends-to-fill-breast-cancer-awareness-month/ Mon, 07 Oct 2024 00:01:26 GMT Red Flags and DENOVO Breast Cancer Primary breast cancer tends to fill Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s a month where our social media, TV, radio, advertising and retail all turn pink and fluffy… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/i-was-just-39-years-old-a-mother-of-three-young-girls/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/i-was-just-39-years-old-a-mother-of-three-young-girls/ Sun, 06 Oct 2024 00:12:19 GMT I was just 39 years old, a mother of three young girls, facing a life expectancy of two to three years post metastatic (secondary) breast cancer diagnosis. My chance to see my girls grow up and live… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/soon-after-my-diagnosis-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-age-33-someone-tried-to-explain/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/soon-after-my-diagnosis-with-metastatic-breast-cancer-age-33-someone-tried-to-explain/ Thu, 03 Oct 2024 22:38:02 GMT Sadly our Kit @Diamondtrees11 died on Monday 7th May 2023 We will miss her voice as she wasn’t scared of speaking out about issues. This blog post by Kit from 2020 still reads as strong today as it… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/the-infographic-on-the-red-flag-signs-for-metastatic-breast-cancer-is-a-brilliant-resource/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/the-infographic-on-the-red-flag-signs-for-metastatic-breast-cancer-is-a-brilliant-resource/ Wed, 02 Oct 2024 22:12:11 GMT Jo Taylor’s infographic on the red flag signs for metastatic breast cancer is a brilliant resource and one that should be shared far and wide, but this is my story about being so lucky to have been… https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/metupuk-breast-cancer-awareness-2024-for-metastatic-breast-cancer/ https://metupuk.org.uk/2024/10/metupuk-breast-cancer-awareness-2024-for-metastatic-breast-cancer/ Tue, 01 Oct 2024 12:08:07 GMT METUPUK’ Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign for October across the UK and on social media channels. Continuing the synergy with The Darker Side of Pink travelling campaign highlighting the 31…