A mother living with breast cancer has become the face of a national campaign supporting nearly one million people across the UK affected by the disease.
Mother with incurable breast cancer leads campaign supporting nearly one million UK patients
Paula Van Santen, 51, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was diagnosed in April 2022 and underwent a mastectomy with reconstruction later that year. She is now fronting a major campaign by Breast Cancer Now, aimed at raising awareness and strengthening support for those living with and beyond breast cancer.
The campaign comes as new data shows around 920,000 people in the UK are currently living with or beyond a diagnosis, a figure projected to rise to more than 1.4 million by 2050. The charity says its long-term ambition is that everyone diagnosed will not only survive, but live well.
Van Santen described her diagnosis as “devastating because you don't know which path it's gonna take you down”.
She tole the BBC: “But I was optimistic, research has come on so far and you know that there is a future for yourself and you look to the future rather than to the now.”
Following surgery, a CT scan in July 2022 revealed the cancer had spread to her lungs, meaning the disease is now classified as incurable but treatable.
She said: “It will eventually wake up and start to spread again but at the moment it's not active.”
Informed by a survey of more than 3,000 people affected by breast cancer, the campaign highlights the ongoing physical and psychological impact of the disease, particularly for those living with secondary breast cancer.
Van Santen said she continues to work and travel, and is determined to raise awareness.
She added: “I want to support the nearly one million people that are living with or beyond breast cancer, just like me.”
Breast Cancer Now said it plans to increase research investment, focusing on metastatic disease and more personalised treatment approaches.