Women with lobular breast cancer are urging the UK government to fund a £20m research project focused on the biology and treatment of the disease.
Women diagnosed with lobular breast cancer have held silent vigils in London to press the government for more research funding into a form of the disease campaigners say is too often overlooked.
The Lobular Moon Shot Project is calling for £20m to support research into the basic biology of lobular breast cancer. Campaigners say the disease accounts for 15% of all breast cancer cases but remains under-studied and under-recognised, in part because it often does not form a lump in the same way as other breast cancers.
Katie Swinburne, 50, from near Barnard Castle in County Durham, said she had never heard of lobular breast cancer before she was diagnosed in 2023. Her mammogram had been clear and she had not found a lump, but she noticed a slight change in her breast. An ultrasound and biopsy later confirmed the diagnosis.
Swinburne, a mother of three, said she had surgery and was told the cancer was stage three. She went on to have four months of chemotherapy, oral therapy and radiotherapy. She said her treatment programme was tailored to the more common ductal form of breast cancer. “We’ve known since the 70s that lobular breast cancer exists and is different, but it’s been critically under-funded and under-researched,” she said.
Melissa Robinson, 50, from Guisborough, was also diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in 2023. The mother of three said she was thankful she had found a lump, adding that she initially assumed it was a cyst before being told she had breast cancer.
Campaigners held three separate vigils outside Downing Street, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department of Health and Social Care. Robinson said 22 women gathered at each location to represent the 22 women diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in the UK each day. The groups later met outside Downing Street and sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in memory of the project’s founder, Dr Susan Michaelis.
A government spokesperson said ministers and research funders had met the Lobular Moon Shot Project last week to discuss how to progress research. “Lobular breast cancer goes undetected in too many women and we are determined to back research that could transform outcomes for patients,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the national cancer plan would put research at the centre of efforts to improve outcomes, including faster access to scientific advances, earlier diagnosis and more effective treatments. Campaigners are now waiting to see whether the proposed £20m project will secure government backing.
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