A new online support service for secondary breast cancer

What’s the project about?

We want to make sure that people living with secondary breast cancer are able to access support that works for them.

We're trying out a new format of our Living with Secondary Breast Cancer service called the chat group. In this group, people will get support from experts and peers who understand in a safe, confidential online chat group.

This new format is for anyone living with secondary breast cancer who prefers to access online support, and would prefer not to be visible or speak out loud on camera. It also gives people the option to remain anonymous.

We’re trialling this service for 6 months and would love to invite you to try it and let us know what you think. 

Who’s organising it?

Name of project lead: Lotte Adams 

Job title: New projects and business growth manager

Organisation: Breast Cancer Now 

Email address: lotte.adams@breastcancernow.org

Who can take part?

This service is for anyone living with secondary breast cancer. It’s available for all ages and to anyone in the UK. 

Why do you want me to be involved? 

By taking part and giving us your feedback on your experience, you'll help us learn whether the chat group should become part of our services for everyone living with secondary breast cancer. 

You'll also help us identify improvements we can make to the chat group to improve the experience for other users in the future.

What will you ask me to do?

Each 1-hour chat group will take place at the same time every month, and it will be facilitated by a qualified counsellor. 

While we test out this new service for 6 months, there will be 2 sessions per month, one during the day and one in the evening. You’re welcome to come to one or both.

The dates for the sessions in April are

• Tuesday 8 April at 8pm
• Thursday 24 April at 11am

You'll take part from the comfort of your own home, joining a small group of other people diagnosed with secondary breast cancer. 

We hope you’ll want to join at least a few sessions during the 6 months trial period, but we understand if you can’t. However many sessions you join, we’d love to hear your feedback on how you found them.

We’ll send you an evaluation survey to give your feedback about the service, and you’ll also be invited to an interview or focus group to talk more in depth about your experience. 

How do I get involved?

You can read more about the chat group on our website and register to join the chat. 

Once you’ve registered to try out the chat group, a member of our team will get in touch to explain how to create an account and access the chat each month.

If you have any other suggestions for how we should develop our secondary breast cancer services, you can let us know using our virtual suggestions box. 

When’s the deadline?

You can sign up any time during the trial period. We'd love for you to sign up early in the trial so you can attend as many sessions as possible. We recommend signing up by 30 April.