Where we've come from

Breast Cancer Care was founded by Betty Westgate in 1972, four years after her own diagnosis of breast cancer. A celebrated breast cancer campaigner, Betty lived for more than 30 years following her diagnosis.

Using her personal experience Betty wanted to make a difference for others affected by breast cancer. She felt that when she was diagnosed there was a real lack of information and also a great sense of isolation. She established Breast Cancer Care (although it was called The Mastectomy Association at the time) from her living room and was not only our founder, but also our first volunteer. These volunteering roots are still very important to us today. In short what we do now is;

• provide information and offer emotional and practical support,
• bring people affected by breast cancer together,
• campaign for improvements in standards of support and care,
• promote the importance of early detection.