An audit of people living with secondary breast cancer in Northern Ireland is to be carried out.

It is being funded for two years by the charity Cancer Focus NI.

The study, the first of its kind, will be carried out by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry at Queen's University Belfast.

It will enable better information to be gathered, which will help the planning of services and support the needs of patients.

Secondary breast cancer is when the cancer spreads to another part of the body, such as the liver, the lungs, the brain or the bones.

An estimated 35,000 people in the UK are living with secondary breast cancer - on average 31 people die each day from the disease.

Improving life chances

Julie Ann Lillis, one of a group of women who have campaigned for an audit to be carried out, welcomed the development.

"The Cancer Focus NI funding of a secondary breast cancer audit is truly ground-breaking and should lead to real, tangible changes so that we have the same life chances as patients living in other parts of the UK," she said.

"For people in our situation this can mean the difference in experiencing another milestone in our lives and precious extra time with our loved ones."

The fresh information was urgently needed to improve the lives of local women, said Cancer Focus NI chief executive Richard Spratt.

"Without this information and the necessary resources, patients in Northern Ireland are losing out on the opportunity to have their lives extended for as long as possible," he said.

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