BCN staff and people with lived experience talking to MPs in Parliament.

Help us create a standard of care for older people

Category: Personal diagnosis | Over 65

Join a focus group to help us develop a standard of care for older people diagnosed with breast cancer to make sure they have the best outcomes possible.

What’s the project about?

We’re aware that older people who are diagnosed with breast cancer are less likely to have a positive experience. 

They’re less likely to get treatment that is tailored to their needs and may find it harder to access information and support.  

To address this, we’re creating a set of 'standards of care' for older adults with breast cancer. This will highlight key areas of concerns for this population, outline the care they should expect to receive, and signpost to support. 

We want to involve older people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer in developing these standards to make sure that they reflect your needs and concerns.

Who’s organising it?

Name of project lead: Cassie Kingswell 

Job title: Clinical nurse specialist, family history

Organisation: Breast Cancer Now 

Email address: cassie.kingswell@breastcancernow.org

Who can take part?

You can take part if you’re over 65 and have been diagnosed with breast cancer (we would especially like to hear from people who were over 70 when they were diagnosed). 

This can be any diagnosis of breast cancer, including: 

  • DCIS
  • Stage 1, 2 or 3 Primary breast cancer 
  • A local or regional recurrence of primary breast cancer 
  • Secondary (metastatic) breast cancer 

Why do you want me to be involved? 

By getting involved in developing the standards of care, you’ll ensure that the needs and experiences of older people are accurately reflected. 

You’ll also help us make sure that we write the standards in an accessible way, so they can benefit the most people.  

What will you ask me to do?

We’d love for you to attend an online focus group. This will be held via Microsoft Teams in December (date tbc). 

At the focus group, you’ll be able to share your experience of having treatment for breast cancer and give feedback on the proposed standards of care - which we will share in advance. 

You’ll also be able to say whether you’d be interested in being part of the project working group to finalise the standards. This group will meet face to face and include healthcare professionals and Breast Cancer Now staff. We’d like to invite 2 Voices from the focus group for this. 

How do I get involved?

If you’d like to attend the focus group, please complete the expression of interest form. We’ll then be in touch to confirm when the focus group will be. 

If you have any questions or struggle to fill in the form online, please contact Cassie at cassie.kingswell@breastcancernow.org

When’s the deadline?

14 November 2025

Get involved

Join the focus group and help us create a standard of care that will ensure that older adults get the care and support they need. 

Sign up