New Pan-European Report Highlights Current Isolation Felt by Advanced Breast Cancer Patients

HATFIELD, England, November 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

FurtherMore: campaign launched with patient groups across Europe calls for more support tailored to the specific needs of people with advanced breast cancer 

A new report, entitled MBC Radio Silence, released today highlights that people with advanced breast cancer (also known as metastatic breast cancer (MBC)), feel isolated and in need of additional support to deal with their diagnosis.^[1]

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Initiated and funded by Eisai Europe Ltd. with advice from pan-European and national patient associations, the report highlights data from a new survey, initiated and funded by Eisai, indicating that many people with this advanced disease are holding back in discussing their frustrations and fears with their doctor.^[1] A quarter (25%) say that while they research treatment options online they feel afraid to ask questions of their doctors, and when asked how they feel about initiating conversations with their doctors regarding survival, 64% feel nervous or very uncomfortable about doing so.^[1]

The MBC Radio Silence report calls for a greater focus on this advanced stage of breast cancer as a disease that is distinct from early stage breast cancer in that it can be controlled but cannot currently be cured. It highlights a need for patient-specific information on MBC for patients and for healthcare to be delivered via a consistent multidisciplinary team from the point of diagnosis.

"The resources available specifically for the needs of people with advanced disease are scarce. In the UK there is also a lot of pressure on the consultation time with your doctor, who has a lot to convey in a short time, so often it is hard for people to process it all and open up about their feelings. This can all lead to an acute sense of isolation," commented Jean Robinson, an advanced breast cancer patient from the UK. "Overcoming common misconceptions about MBC and having the right level of information and support could make all the difference to people. I feel very strongly that we should be talking positively about living with this cancer, not dying from it, and I hope this campaign will help to achieve that."

To coincide with this report a new campaign funded and initiated by Eisai called FurtherMore has been launched with advice from pan-European and national patient associations. FurtherMore showcases the lives of women with advanced breast cancer across the world through real and personal experiences, and celebrates what can be achieved when they get the support they need to live their life to the full.

The FurtherMore campaign calls on people with MBC, and their families, to share their own unique and inspiring stories with #FurtherMore #MBC and showcase how they are living their lives to the full.

The hope is that, through these powerful stories, advanced breast cancer will be recognised as a distinct disease separate from early stage breast cancer, and that all those affected by the disease will be empowered to go further in sharing information with their healthcare professional about how they truly wish to live out the remainder of their lives, and encourage others to do the same.

"This feeling of loneliness is key. Many patients say their relatives do not understand and they feel very isolated, so it is important that people going through that experience have access to more group support and that information is appropriate to their situation," commented Dr Ana Casas, President & Founder, Fundación Actitud frente al Cáncer, Spain; Medical Oncologist, Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, Seville, Spain. "We hope the FurtherMore campaign will help raise awareness of metastatic breast cancer as a disease that is distinct from early stage breast cancer, in that it can be controlled but cannot currently be cured, and bring focus to the unique needs of people living with this diagnosis so that they feel able to talk openly about their hopes for the future with family, friends and their doctor."

Notes to Editors  

About FurtherMore 
The FurtherMore campaign, initiated and funded by Eisai Europe Ltd., showcases the lives of women with advanced breast cancer across the world through real and personal experiences. Many of these women have found something unexpected from their diagnosis; something universal; a deeper sense of meaning in their lives and their hopes for living as long as possible. FurtherMore explores advanced breast cancer through these unique and powerful stories, and highlights the importance of what can be achieved when people with this advanced diagnosis get the support they need to live their life to the full.

Find out more about FurtherMore at www.furthermore.life.

About the report  

The report and surveys were funded and initiated by Eisai Europe Ltd. The MBC patient survey was distributed via patient advocacy groups and through HealthUnlocked between 12-28 August 2018 and had 171 responses from four European countries (France, Italy, Spain and UK) and Russia. In addition, a healthcare professional survey was distributed via SERMO between 12-24 August 2018 and had 82 responses from four European countries (France, Italy, Spain and UK).

Eisai Europe Ltd. received advice from the following patient advocates and healthcare professionals to provide insights into the survey findings and agreed a call-to-action to address the unmet patient and physician needs in MBC for inclusion in the MBC Radio Silence report:

• Professor John Crown, Consultant Medical Oncologist, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
• Dr Alexia Bertuzzi, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Humanitas Research Hospital IRCCS, Milan, Italy
• Dr Ana Casas, President & Founder, Fundación Actitud frente al Cáncer, Spain; Medical Oncologist, Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, Seville, Spain
• Elisabetta Veneziani Santonio, Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) Collaborator, AYA project, Cancer Center Istituto Clinico Humanitas, Milan, Italy
• Jean Robinson, advanced breast cancer patient
• Andrea Cannon, Breast Care Nurse Consultant, Think Pink Foundation, Australia

The campaign is funded and initiated by Eisai as a service to support people living with advanced breast cancer.

About Eisai Co., Ltd. 
Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call our human health care (hhc) philosophy. With over 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realise our hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products in multiple therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, including Oncology and Neurology. 

For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com.

References  

1. MBC Radio Silence report, published November 2018. Available at http://furthermore.life/assets/pdf/MBC_Radio_Silence_Report.pdf. Last accessed November 2018.

EMEA-NON-18-00037

November 2018