Thank you to all our members who attended our 2016 AGM in Dublin on Saturday 11th June. It was great to see so many of you there and to hear about issues that are currently affecting you. Thank you also to all the speakers who so generously gave their time for our information session Advanced/Metastatic Breast Cancer: Let’s talk about it!
Talk about it we did. Prof John Crown, consultant medical oncologist, (left) delivered a highly informative picture of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) treatment – past, current and future. Rhona Nally, patient advocate and peer-to-peer supporter, (right) gave a frank description of some of the major issues that face women living with a diagnosis of MBC, such as the lack of psychosocial support and coping with feelings of isolation.
Despite the serious nature of the topic, Prof Crown’s talk was peppered with cause for hope. “I don’t believe it [MBC] has to stay incurable”, he said as he described treatment advances. From a patient perspective, Rhona wisely stated that we must not underestimate the value of hope. While such creative and committed people are working to help women living with MBC, we choose to agree. We choose to hope.