Events for younger women with primary breast cancer​

What is Younger Women Together? 

You might feel like you’re the only younger woman with breast cancer. But you’re not alone.   

Our Younger Women Together events give you the chance to meet other women under 45 with primary breast cancer. They provide a safe, welcoming space to talk things through with others like you who really understand. And you'll hear from expert speakers on a range of topics. 

About the events 

We offer 2 types of event for younger women with primary breast cancer: 

• In person events: Our 1- and 2-day events take place in accessible locations across the UK. They focus on small group discussions supported by expert speakers and nurses, as well as trained volunteers who experienced breast cancer as younger women. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to ask questions and connect with others like you.  We provide all the meals, refreshments and, for 2-day events, overnight accommodation free of charge. 
• Online events: Our online events take place 1 evening per week over 4 weeks. You'll join sessions with the whole group and break-out sessions with expert speakers. There’ll also be a Q&A with an oncologist and support from our volunteers throughout. All you need is a device with Zoom and a webcam to join in. 

Is it for me? 

These events are tailored to younger women with primary breast cancer. To take part, you need to be: 

• A woman aged 18 to 45 years old 
• Diagnosed with primary breast cancer 
• Living in the UK or a British national living or working abroad

What you can expect

Topics

At our 4-week online events, we cover topics like relationships, menopause and fertility. 

At our in-person events, topics often include:

• Coping with change and uncertainty 
• Menopausal symptoms
• Relationships and communication
• Intimacy after a breast cancer diagnosis 

At the 2-day event, there are more sessions, covering topics like:

• Menopausal symptoms
• Exercise
• Healthy eating and diet myths
• Breast reconstruction
• Laughter workshop
• Mindfulness workshop

Schedule

Here are examples of our in-person programme.

1-day event

• 9.30 to 10.00:Registration including tea and coffee
• 10.00 to 10.30: Welcome and introduction - including icebreaker
• 10.30 to 12.00: Connect and share. Breakout sessions and an opportunity to connect with others who have a similar diagnosis
• 12.00 to 13.00: Lunch
• 13.00 to 14.15: Choose from one of the following break-out groups: Relationships and communication, menopause, intimacy and sexuality
• 14.15 to 14.30: Refreshments
• 14.30 to 15.30: Coping with change and uncertainty
• 15:30 to 16.15: Panel Q&A with Breast Cancer Now and volunteers
• 16.15 to 16.30: Closing session and evaluations

2-day event

Friday

• 9.30am to 10am: Registration with tea and coffee
• 10am to 10.30am: Welcome and introduction
• 10.30am to 12pm: Break-out groups
• 12pm to 1pm: Lunch
• 1pm to 2.15pm: Break-out groups
• 2.15pm to 2.30pm: Refreshments
• 2.30pm to 3.30pm: Break-out groups
• 3.30pm to 4.15pm: Panel Q&A with BCN and volunteers
• 4.15pm to 4.30pm: Closing session and evaluations

Saturday

• 9.30am to 10.45am: Break-out groups
• 10.45am to 11am: Refreshments
• 11am to 12.15pm: ‘Coping with change and uncertainty’ session
• 12.15pm to 1.30pm: Lunch
• 1.30pm to 2.30pm: Break-out groups
• 2.30pm to 3pm: Refreshment break
• 3pm to 3.45pm: ‘What now? Further support’ session
• 3.45pm to 4.15pm: Close and goodbye

You’ll get more in-depth information on all of these sessions after registering.

Signing up

Find a Younger Women Together event that works for you. You can choose between different dates for online events and different locations for in-person events.

Once you’ve signed up for an in-person event, we’ll email you to confirm your place and to let you know the programme and venue. We’ll also email you a few weeks before the event as a reminder.

If you’ve signed up for an online event, we'll send you an email to confirm your place. We’ll also send details about the Zoom session each week, along with anything else you need to know.

Taking part online

For our online Younger Women Together events, we encourage you to keep your camera on. It helps everyone feel more connected. We’ll also invite you to introduce yourself, ask any questions and contribute to group discussions if you want to.

Taking part in person

At our in-person Younger Women Together events, there’ll be expert-led sessions and breakout groups. You’ll get to choose which breakout groups you want to attend when you register.

Group size

At online events, there’ll be up to 30 people.

At in-person events, there’ll be up to 40 people.

Event leaders

At our Younger Women Together online events, a qualified counsellor facilitates each session.

For in-person events, there’ll be expert speakers on relevant topics. Our clinical nurse specialists and volunteers also attend the events to answer your questions and offer support. Please note that they can’t offer medical treatment or individual medical advice.

Length

Our in-person events take place over 1 day, or 2 days with an overnight stay. The sessions start at 9.30am on Friday and finish at 4.30pm. On Saturday at the 2-day events, the sessions begin at 9.30am and finish at 4.15pm.

Our online events start at 7pm, finishing at 8.30pm. We run 4 sessions over 4 weeks.

Privacy

All our events are confidential. The facilitator will create a safe and private space for everyone to share openly. And at the start of each session, we'll remind everyone that what’s shared in the group, stays in the group.

Locations

Our online events take place over Zoom, so you can join from the comfort of your own home.

Our in-person events take place in locations across the UK. We’ll send you the exact venue address once you’ve registered.

Refreshments

At our in-person events, we provide all meals and refreshments free of charge. We provide tea, coffee, water and biscuits throughout the day. For 2-day events, we'll have lunch and dinner on Friday, and lunch on Saturday.

If you have any dietary requirements, let us know when you register so we can make sure they’re catered for.

Getting to events

We hold all our in-person events in venues close to a train station and with car parking on-site or close by. Venues have accessible toilets and disabled car parking. Rooms are located on the ground floor or on the first floor with lift access.

Our online events take place on Zoom. We’ll send you some guidance about how to set up Zoom on your phone, tablet or laptop before the event. If you’re still having trouble, let us know and someone on the team can talk you through it.

If you need support to take part in an online or in-person event, you can get in touch with our services support team on 0345 0771 893, or email servicesbusinesssupport@breastcancernow.org. We’ll do what we can to make sure you can take part.

Attending and cancelling

We understand that sometimes you might not feel well enough to attend, plans change unexpectedly and you might not be able to come anymore. That’s totally OK.

You'll be able to cancel your reservation on our online booking system and rebook if you need to. Cancelling in advance helps us plan groups and catering, and we might be able to offer your place to someone else.

For our online 4-week events, please let us know if you can’t make one of the sessions. If we don’t hear from you, we might get in touch to check you’re OK. We can also help you reschedule to attend another session.

Financial support

Our services are always free, including meals, refreshments and accommodation, thank to our generous supporters. But we know that getting to the event and making other arrangements might still cost you money.

We’re committed to supporting everyone affected by breast cancer to live well. So, if you need financial support to access one of our face-to-face services, our Access Fund can help. Email us at accessfund@breastcancernow.org or call 0345 077 1893, and we'll do our best to support you.

Healthcare professional referral

If you’re a healthcare professional and would like to refer one of your patients to our Younger Women Together events, please use our dedicated referral form.