Meeting of the Parliament 11 November 2025
I, too, thank Emma Harper for securing this important debate and for acknowledging the powerful work of Make 2nds Count and Breast Cancer Now in giving a voice to those who live with incurable secondary breast cancer.
Behind every statistic, there are real people—mothers, daughters, sisters and friends. There are people such as Rhoda, one of my constituents, who bravely shared her story with me by email. Rhoda was first diagnosed with secondary breast cancer back in 2012. She told me that, by the time she had found the lump, the cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes and bones. With surgery, radiotherapy and on-going hormone treatment, she was stable for many years and was able to continue to work full time and volunteer in her community. However, earlier this year, sadly, her cancer recurred and spread further.
Despite her courage and determination, Rhoda told me that what troubles her most is not her illness but the lack of progress in recording how many people in Scotland are living with advanced breast cancer. She asked me how we can plan cancer services when we do not even know how many people are affected. It is a simple but profound question, which gets to the heart of the debate.
As others have mentioned, we do not know how many people in Scotland are living with secondary breast cancer. Although new diagnoses are recorded, cases where breast cancer has returned or spread are not consistently tracked or published. As a result, thousands of people such as Rhoda are in effect missing from our health data. They are not reflected in official numbers, NHS Scotland does not plan consistently for them and, without being properly counted, they cannot receive the care and support that they need and deserve.
Almost 10 years ago, the Scottish Government committed to changing that. That commitment was renewed in the cancer action plan for 2023 to 2026. However, here we are, nearing the end of that plan period and the promise remains unfulfilled. As other members have done tonight, I therefore ask the minister to give us more information on that. Without comprehensive data, we cannot plan services, target resources or make fair and informed decisions about access to treatment. As Rhoda rightly pointed out, how can we decide which new cancer drugs to fund or negotiate fair prices with the companies if we do not even know how many people might benefit?
It is not just about data; it is about dignity and treatment. People who are living with secondary breast cancer deserve to be recognised, counted and properly cared for. We should have confidence that decisions about their treatment are built on real understanding, not on guesswork or gaps in information. We need to make sure that those who are living bravely with secondary breast cancer, like my constituent and many others across Scotland, are no longer invisible to the system. It should be there for them and we should know who they are.