62,000 people are currently living in the UK with incurable secondary breast cancer.

Secondary breast cancer is the name given to the disease when it has spread from the breast to other parts of the body. There is currently no cure for secondary breast cancer, but that doesn't mean there isn't hope. It is treatable and the research that Breast Cancer Now helps fund can help people live well for longer.

Our brief from Breast Cancer Now was to educate people about living with secondary breast cancer and give those living with the disease a platform through which to share their voices and to feel seen.

Our objectives were to share a side to the story of living with the disease that had never been shared before, whilst always remaining respectful and empathetic when handling such a sensitive topic.

Breast Cancer Now describe themselves as the “research and support charity”. It’s easy to see the human side of support, but how do you humanise a charity’s research? We looked to the people for whom research is the most valuable lifeline, those living with incurable secondary breast cancer.

We asked them to tell us what Breast Cancer Now’s research means to them and what they’d do if that research gave them the one thing they need; more time. What resulted, were a number of eye-opening and compelling stories that lift the lid on living with an incurable disease and demonstrate that there is no one way to live with secondary breast cancer. Each person’s outlook, experience and dreams are different and, in this film, we share just a few of them. A flavour of what is happening in the 62,000 UK households currently coping with a secondary breast cancer diagnosis.

In our first year working with Breast Cancer Now, we opened up the conversation on primary breast cancer, with work that took an unflinching view on how it feels to experience the disease. In this second year, we created this film to run shortly after Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to reinforce Breast Cancer Now’s continued commitment to speaking openly and honestly about breast cancer in order to support those affected, this time with incurable secondary breast cancer as its main focus.

It's not uncommon to see adverts and pieces of communication about breast cancer, but it's extremely rare to hear about secondary. By shining the spotlight on an often-overlooked community, we were able to build trust and advocacy amongst a very vocal group of people who are impacted by the disease. The film was celebrated by this community for its sensitive and honest portrayal of secondary breast cancer.

Before the film went live, people with secondary breast cancer were actively posting on Breast Cancer Now's social channels, highlighting their feelings of being ignored and underappreciated.

Needless to say, as soon as the film went live the conversation switched. The social channels were adorned with appreciation and love from those with and without secondary alike.

The video was shared and viewed thousands of times across a variety of channels.

We managed to give those living with secondary breast cancer a platform through which to express themselves. And we showed the world that when Breast Cancer Now say "We're here" for everyone affected by breast cancer, they truly mean it.