Future Dreams breast cancer charity has this month released our 2024 Impact Report, revealing the current gap in mental health support for people diagnosed with the disease.
The report highlights the need for breast cancer patients to access a safe haven, where they can speak to professionals and, importantly, air their fears among peers in order to feel empowered about their future.
We run Future Dreams House, the only dedicated breast cancer support centre in the UK offering over 100 in-person and online workshops and advice sessions helping with physical and mental health issues. Since opening the Future Dreams House in 2021, over 2,600 individuals impacted by breast cancer have joined our community, over 900 have attended community meet-ups and more than 1,150 people have benefitted from our 1-1 sessions with a breast cancer nurse, specialist counsellor or therapist. 79% of visitors felt less isolated and alone thanks to Future Dreams and 77% recorded an improvement in their mental health. Breast care nurses reported 76% of patients they referred had greater self esteem and self confidence.
Our survey shows many service users come to us primarily for emotional and psychological support.
Our Impact Report found that “feelings of fear, anxiety and PTSD” are the major reasons people turn to Future Dreams (52%), closely followed by loneliness and isolation (48%), poor mental health (44%) and loss of confidence and low self-esteem (44%).
The report also highlights the profound challenges that lie ahead with breast cancer diagnosis rates set to double in the UK to 1.2million people in 2030. This underscores an urgent and overarching need for community support services that foster a sense of belonging and where individuals can connect through shared experiences and find the strength, understanding and empathy to move forward with their lives.
Future Dreams CEO, Sam Jacobs says: “We see people facing – and recovering from – breast cancer facing huge issues of loneliness, isolation, loss of confidence and a sense of hopelessness. They often don’t know where to seek help with mental health challenges, especially when some of them are hit by them at the end of treatment after they are told they are cancer-free. Just when they think they should be feeling ecstatic, they often feel just the opposite and the overstretched NHS can’t always meet those needs.
“Future Dreams offers a welcoming community and a range of services, online and in person, designed to help fill that gap – supporting women and men as they navigate their post-cancer reality. The end of treatment can throw up a host of psycho-social issues such as PTSD, fear of recurrence, loss of identity and low self-esteem. It’s vital to reach patients who are struggling in this way and it’s why we have a wide range of programmes that can be accessed in-person and online.
“We have visitors travelling hundreds of miles to use our services from as far away as Newcastle, Scotland, the West Country, Norfolk and the Midlands. You do not need to be referred by a doctor or breast care nurse. Our goal is to prevent anyone going through breast cancer alone or without hope and we can offer support whether you are newly diagnosed, have primary or secondary breast cancer or if your diagnosis and treatment was years ago.”
Consultant Medical Oncologist and Future Dreams Trustee, Dr Fharat Raja, says: “There is an epidemic of people struggling in silence with the psychological consequences of breast cancer.
“At the time of diagnosis, there is frequently shock, distress and then a focus on practically getting through the steps of physical treatment. There is often neither the time nor space to process this huge life event, or to allow someone to work through how it’s impacting them, their family, career and perspective on life.
“Once the intensive part of treatment is complete, there can be a huge rush of emotions and repressed thoughts, which can become a crisis point. For many people, that ‘back to normal’ moment never comes – instead there is often a dip, and a person can feel very low and lost, as well as guilty for not feeling grateful to have survived. This mixture of emotions can be very difficult and it’s why people really need support at this point to rebuild their confidence and their lives.”
Dr Caroline Johnson, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and lead for the Psycho-oncology team at Imperial College Healthcare Trust, says: “Cancer can disrupt multiple aspects of a person’s life, including employment or study, family roles and responsibilities and relationships with partners, family and friends. Treatment can feel long and grueling and this, combined with the inevitable uncertainty and fears for the future that come with a cancer diagnosis, can be overwhelming and impact people’s sense of self and self-esteem. For some, the experience can be traumatic and so having settings for people to share their fears and access support is a really important element in providing holistic care.”
Future Dreams House, based in London’s Kings Cross, hosts the in-person events and the wide range of online sessions that can be found from visiting the website www.futuredreams.org.uk
Therapies and support include sessions on getting back to work, bra-fitting, exercise and movement, early menopause and infertility issues caused by treatment, wig-fitting, nutrition, counselling, life-after-cancer courses as well as help for people learning to live with cancer when they are told the disease is treatable but no longer curable.
Our thanks to the Klein Family Foundation for funding this project and to the team at Almond Tree Consulting for their support and guidance. Photography by Simon Emmett.
To read the full impact report. Click the link below.
To find out how you can get involved and support our work click here.
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Sylvie and Danielle began Future Dreams with just £100 in 2008. They believed nobody should face breast cancer alone. Their legacy lives on in Future Dreams House. We couldn’t continue to fund support services for those touched by breast cancer, raise awareness of breast cancer and promote early diagnosis and advance research into secondary breast cancer without your help. Please consider partnering with us or making a donation.