Understanding and improving Black women’s experiences of breast cancer treatment
Categories: Patient or loved one | black women
Share your experience of breast cancer, and help researchers design a study investigating how to improve breast cancer treatment and care for Black women.
What’s the project about?
In the UK, breast cancer is less common among Black women than White women—but the outcomes are often worse. Black women are more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age, and are more likely to have advanced cancer when diagnosed.
They are also less likely to begin or continue treatment. This can sometimes be influenced by cultural beliefs or previous negative experiences of healthcare.
Research also shows Black women often face other barriers when interacting with healthcare professionals. These include poor communication, feeling unheard, or a lack of empathy.
As a result, they often don’t have a positive experience of breast cancer treatment, and may not access all the services they could.
Researchers are designing a project which aims to help healthcare professionals support black women with breast cancer well, and increase the number of Black women accessing cancer services.
They want to hear your experiences of your or a loved one’s cancer care to understand what the common experiences or perceptions are.
Who’s organising it?
Name of project lead: Jurga McLean
Job title: Clinical Pharmacist/ Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow
Organisation: The Royal Marsden
Email address: jurga.mclean@rmh.nhs.uk
Phone number: 0203 186 5282
Who can take part?
You can take part if you’re a Black women who’s been diagnosed with breast cancer who is going through, or have been through, treatment.
The researchers also want to hear from family and friends about their experiences.
Why do you want me to be involved?
By sharing your experience, you can help the researchers understand what matters to Black women with cancer. This will ensure they can develop appropriate support for healthcare professionals and women, and improve Black women’s experience of cancer care.
What will you ask me to do?
The researchers are interested to hear how your identity has shaped your experience with cancer treatment. To do this, you can visit the research webpage and share your experience on the discussion board. You can do this anonymously.
Or, you can contact Jurga at jurga.mclean@rmh.nhs.uk or on 0203 186 5282 to join a discussion group.
If you have any questions or comments, you can contact Jurga.
How do I get involved?
Please visit the webpage to share your experience, or contact Jurga to join a discussion group
When’s the deadline?
30 September 2025
Get involved
Share your experience of breast cancer treatment and help researchers understand how they can support healthcare professionals to improve black women’s experiences of breast cancer care.