Lobular Moon Shot Project Media Alert

27 June 2025

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting to Meet with Lobular Moon Shot Project Campaigners on 14th July

London, 27th June 2025 - Yesterday, Thursday 26th June, Lobular Moon Shot Project campaigners received an invitation from the government to meet with Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention Ashley Dalton and Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Dame Angela McLean. The meeting will take place on Monday, 14th July.

We welcome this meeting with the government. We look forward to discussing the urgent need for a 'moon shot' approach to funding a vital five-year lobular breast cancer research project, which will be led by the Manchester Breast Centre. The Lobular Moon Shot Project is the most bipartisan supported campaign in the country, over 360 MPs are calling for the government to fund this work, along with Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, Breast Cancer Now, and many leading lobular breast cancer experts. We hope to draw a swift conclusion at this meeting."

Dr Susan Michaelis, Founder of the Lobular Moon Shot Project

On Tuesday 24th June, the campaigners held a Silent Vigil on Whitehall at the entrance to Downing Street. They stood in silence from 3:00pm to 3:22pm alongside a number of MPs to recognise the 22 women who will be diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in the UK that day, and every day. The campaigners then delivered a letter to the Prime Minister with a plea to the government to fund the Lobular Moon Shot Research Project.

The campaigners then headed to Piccadilly, London to attend the premiere of Fact Not Fiction Films’ documentary feature film ‘Our Journey with Lobular Breast Cancer’. The film, which tells the story of the two-year Lobular Moon Shot Project campaign, was screened at the Raindance Film Festival.

On Monday 30th June, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham will speak at a Lobular Moon Shot Project meeting that will bring together experts from across the UK and Europe who will discuss how to push lobular breast cancer research forward.

"I’m proud to back the Lobular Moon Shot Project and to speak at this important event. When I was Health Secretary, I saw first-hand how vital it is to invest in research that can truly change lives and that’s exactly what this project has the power to do. Lobular breast cancer affects thousands of women in this country yet it still doesn’t have the dedicated treatments or funding it urgently needs. That has to change. I’m especially proud that Greater Manchester, through the brilliant work of the Manchester Breast Centre, will be leading the way on this world-first research."

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

The five-year Lobular Moon Shot Research Project will be led by Professor Robert Clarke, Professor of Breast Biology at the University of Manchester. The project, which will save the NHS millions, will have collaboration at its heart and will see the Manchester Breast Centre working in partnership with research organisations both national and global. The partnership plans to bring together world-class researchers, scientists and lobular breast cancer advocates, all with a specific interest in this disease, who wish to move lobular breast cancer research forward at a much greater pace to improve patient outcomes.

“We will study the unique biology of lobular breast cancer, which has not previously been researched. The research themes of the Lobular Moon Shot Project will be to focus on resistance to current treatments in the unique tissues that invasive lobular cancer spreads to, to develop and utilise lobular breast cancer patient derived models for personalised research. Finally, we will implement multiple analysis methods for delivery of specific, effective drugs to improve long term outcomes.”

Professor Robert Clarke, Professor of Breast Biology at the University of Manchester

Further Information:

- Invasive lobular breast cancer (ILC – also written as ‘Lobular Breast Cancer’) has been known about for more than 80 years.

- Lobular breast cancer is the second most common type of breast cancer making up 15% of breast cancer cases. The other 85% is the more common ductal breast cancer.

- Lobular breast cancer is not a rare cancer it is more common than melanoma, ovarian and brain cancers Lobular breast cancer is the 6th most common type of cancer in women, yet it has no specific treatment and has had very little research.

- Lobular breast cancer has been lumped in with ductal breast cancer research, but it is its own distinct disease 22 women are diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in the UK every day - 1000 globally.

- Lobular breast cancer rarely forms a lump, it spreads through tissue like a spiders’ web and is often diagnosed at a more advanced stage.

- Lobular breast cancer is very difficult to see on imaging particularly for women who have dense breast tissue again leading to diagnosis at a more advanced stage.

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Media Contact:
Kate Ford
kate@jumppr.tv
+44 (0)7740948065