Make 2nds Count has reached a significant milestone with its Patient Trails Advocate (PTA) service and has so far supported 500 secondary breast cancer patients across the UK.
The charity, dedicated to raising awareness and funding research for secondary breast cancer, has benefitted from a generous grant of £79,434 from Walk the Walk charity, organiser of the well-known MoonWalk London and MoonWalk Scotland fundraising events.
These funds will be used to finance the full initiative for the next nine months to a year, demonstrating the collective effort to make a meaningful impact in the lives of secondary breast cancer patients. Nina Barough CBE, founder and chief executive Walk the Walk said: “collaborating, charities can make such a huge difference to so many people, and we are incredibly proud to be supporting Make 2nds Counts and what they achieve in raising awareness and funding research for secondary breast cancer.
“This funding will specifically contribute towards the charity’s ground-breaking Patient Trails Advocate service. This much-needed service is designed to bring together women with breast cancer who might not otherwise have had access to clinical trials, and for many of whom this is the last resort of treatment.”
Make 2nds Count’s PTA service is the first of its kind in the UK, offering fresh hope to patients by connecting them with clinical trials that have the potential to improve outcomes and extend life.
Since its pilot launch in 2021, the PTA service has provided support to over 500 patients, with a remarkable 100% endorsement from those who have experienced the initiative. Furthermore, 95% of patients expressed their willingness to engage in discussions with their clinicians about the possibility of accessing clinical trials.
One such patient is Margaret Irvine, who was diagnosed eight years ago with secondary (metastatic) breast cancer after an original diagnosis of primary breast cancer nine years before that. A trained district nurse, she says, “Access to the service has given me new hope and support, as wells as a new way of opening discussions with my treatment team and allowing myself and others as patients to have more control of the journey we are on. This is the main reason I decided to share my experience with others too.”
Vivienne Wilson, a senior research nurse with the PTA service, said, “I’ve been working with Make 2nds Count for over two years now, and I think this service really is one-of-a-kind. I enjoy the opportunity to talk to many secondary breast cancer patients, sharing my knowledge on available trials and guiding them to explore their options.”
Secondary breast cancer, also known as metastatic, advanced, or stage IV breast cancer, claims the lives of 1,000 women in the UK each month and is currently affecting 61,000 people, yet it remains a relatively unknown and underrepresented area of research.
Make 2nds Count is dedicated to continuing its mission, ensuring that every patient with secondary breast cancer. If you are a secondary breast cancer patient who may be interested in clinical trials and the PTA service, click here.
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