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Eleanor Meade talks about living with secondary breast
cancer

by Nick Lillitos
nlillitos@thekmgroup.co.uk

A brave mother-of-three with incurable cancer is coming out
fighting by becoming the face of a nationwide poster campaign.

Eleanor Meade, 52, from Paddlesworth, near Folkestone, is
promoting Breast Cancer Care, a charity providing advice and
support to people with secondary breast cancer - when the cancer
cells have spread from the breast to another part of the body and
the cancer becomes incurable.

Despite that, it is possible to go on living with it for many
years after a diagnosis.

“There have been wonderful advances in treatment for breast
cancer but it has had the negative effect that most people think of
breast cancer as a completely curable disease,” said Eleanor.

“Very few of the general public realise secondary breast cancer
cannot be cured.

“I was thrilled to bits to hear that the charity were going to
designate a day of awareness of secondary breast cancer.

"It makes me feel my condition is recognised and it means people
who have had primary breast cancer will know they still need to be
on the lookout.

“A lot of people don’t want to talk about living with secondary
breast cancer because it’s a very private thing.

“Unless those of us who are fairly mouthy are prepared to talk
about it then no one will know what it’s like to be living day to
day with it.”

Her poster will appear in magazine and newspaper adverts across
Britain from this week.

It shows a close-up photo of Eleanor with the words: “Some days
I have no energy to get out of bed, let alone play with my
grand-daughter.

“Secondary breast cancer does not go away, but Breast Cancer
Care has helped me to learn to live with it.

"I realised I was not alone. Together we are... LIVING with
secondary breast cancer. Join our campaign.”

To support the campaign visit: www.breastcancercare.org.uk/secondary-breast-cancer