Fife mum joins silent Westminster vigil for funding for ‘overlooked’ breast cancer

Sharon Prince, from Dalgety Bay, joined 22 women from across the UK at the vigil - one to represent the 22 women diagnosed every day with lobular breast cancer.

Around 8,000 women in the UK are diagnosed each year – accounting for around one in seven breast cancer cases – making it the second most common form of the disease. Despite this, campaigners say it receives no dedicated government funding for research. Sharon was diagnosed in December 2021, just seven months after a clear routine screening mammogram. She had no lump or visible symptoms, only a strange sensation in her breast.

The vigil was part of the Lobular Moon Shot Project, led by campaigner Tristan Loraine, whose wife Susan died from the disease in 2025. The campaign is calling on ministers to commit £20 million over five years to fund vital research.

They argue that say the cancer is often harder to detect, as it rarely forms a lump and can be missed by routine scans, leaving many women diagnosed at a later stage. Current treatments are largely based on hormone status rather than the specific biology of the disease.

Sharon said: “Prior to my diagnosis I’d never heard of lobular breast cancer. It’s life-changing to receive a cancer diagnosis, you have to put your trust into your medical team and commit to complete the treatments that they recommend.

"Imagine how it then feels to hear that the treatments you are enduring and pinning all your hopes on are not specific to the type of cancer that you have. It’s devastating. We deserve to be on treatment paths specific to our type of breast cancer.”

The campaign group said the investment would equate to just £238 per patient over the next decade, and could transform understanding and treatment of the disease.

Despite backing from more than 460 MPs, they say no dedicated funding has yet been secured, prompting patients to take their concerns directly to Westminster.

Tristan Loraine said: “The current one-size-fits-all approach to treating lobular breast cancer is failing patients. It is wasting resources and costing lives. I lost my wife, Susan, to lobular breast cancer last year. Eight generic breast cancer treatments could not stop the disease progressing. She would be devastated to see that little progress has been made.

“We met Wes Streeting five days after Susan died and were told the Government supported this vital funding – yet thousands of women are still waiting. The central issue remains unchanged: there is no dedicated funding for research into lobular breast cancer, and it is letting down 15 per cent of all breast cancer patients.”

Simultaneous silent vigils took place outside Downing Street, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.