Myself, my family and work colleagues will be participating in the Admiral Swansea Bay 10K on 14th September 2025 to raise vital funds for Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer Research.

In June 2023 I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer, following 2 surgeries the cancer was discovered in 11 of my lymph nodes making me Stage 3. Following this I had 5 month of chemotherapy and 3 weeks of radiotherapy. In April 2025 I had a bilateral oophorectomy (removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes). 11 weeks later I received the news the cancer had spread to my ovaries and I was now Stage 4. The cancer is now treatable but not curable.

I came across the Lobular Moon Shot Project and found out that this type of cancer frequently fails to be detected on a mammogram (wasn’t shown on mine) or by ultra sound. It has no specific treatment based on its unique biology and remains an ‘unmet clinical need’.

Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer (ILC) is the 2nd most common type of breast cancer. 3.75 million people will be diagnosed with this cancer in the next 10 years, yet ILC currently has no specific treatment and behaves very differently to the more common type of breast cancer - ductal.

The Lobular Moon Shot Project was set up in 2023 to get Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer the research funding needed, so the biology of the disease can be much better understood. This would be a vital next step to getting the specific treatment needed for ILC to improve outcomes. There are pockets of research going on globally but what is needed is a major research project estimated to cost UK£20 million over 5 years. ILC has not been prioritised as it should have been in the past, especially considering 1000 people a day (22 a day in the UK) are diagnosed with the disease. It now needs a Moon Shot style approach to move our understanding of the disease forward at a much greater pace.

The Manchester Breast Centre established in 2005, is part of the the University of Manchester and is the research organisation we have partnered with to achieve this. They will work with other research institutions to advance our global knowledge of the disease and help achieve our goals.