Action to end death from breast cancer

It's incredible what you can do in just a few short weeks with a dedicated campaign team and brilliant supporters. This month, the First Minister of Scotland and leaders of all of Scotland's political parties made a very bold commitment '“ to help stop breast cancer deaths by 2050.
Breast Cancer Now campiagners join First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the  launch of the 2050 Challenge campaignBreast Cancer Now campiagners join First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the  launch of the 2050 Challenge campaign
Breast Cancer Now campiagners join First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the launch of the 2050 Challenge campaign

This didn’t happen by accident. And it definitely didn’t happen through an extravagant or costly political campaign.

To put it simply, people got us here. This commitment happened because of the collective efforts of our campaigners and supporters across Scotland – the “now generation”.

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People like Colin Leslie who courageously shared his heart-breaking experience of losing his fiancée Sharon to breast cancer as part of the 2050 Challenge campaign.

Sharon died 18 months after discovering a lump on her breast at the age of 44. She passed away a month before they planned to get married. The hardest moment for Colin was hearing his fiancée say: “We’re not going to grow old together.” His powerful story inspired so many people to take action and support our 2050 Challenge.

Our campaigner Sylvia Wallace was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 42 years old. She had a mastectomy after doctors discovered she had a 9cm tumour. Sylvia also bravely shared her experiences of breast cancer. In her own words, she explained: “I feel like I’m one of the lucky ones – but I want to see the day when no mother will have to go through what I’ve been through. I want to see the day when no one will die from breast cancer.”

Thanks to Sylvia and Colin and so many others who shared their experiences of breast cancer, the 2050 Challenge mobilised people to send over 3,000 emails asking our politicians to take action. Everyone knows someone who has been affected by breast cancer, so hearing these real stories provoked real action. With every single tweet, e-mail and letter sent to MSPs and local newspapers, our now generation made MSPs and the First Minister pay attention.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament are listening to the now generation. They’ve committed to play their part in early detection, prevention and investment in research – and our 2050 Challenge is reflected in the Scottish Government’s cancer strategy.

With the help of our amazing supporters, we have achieved so much since launching Breast Cancer Now last year. More and more people are running, baking and dancing their way to raise the money needed to beat the disease. We’re set to fund more ground-breaking breast cancer research than any other major cancer charity in the UK; and we’re breaking political ground too.

With ongoing collaboration with the Scottish Government and MSPs as well as the best fundraisers and brightest researchers and scientists across the UK, we can all work together to make our 2050 vision a reality; that one day we will no longer lose the women we love to breast cancer.

For more information on Breast Cancer Now’s work, visit breastcancernow.org or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.

l Mary Allison is director for Scotland at Breast Cancer Now