Rachel

It is with immense pride and a great whoop of joy that the directors of After Breast Cancer Diagnosis (ABCDiagnosis) announce the recognition of their founder, Jo Taylor, in the King's New Year Honours List 2025. Jo, our Founder, is to receive a BEM – British Empire Medal, for services to patient advocacy with the 2 organizations: CIC (Community Interest Company) ABCDiagnosis and the charity METUPUK (which she also founded). Jo was diagnosed nearly 11 years ago with metastatic (secondary) breast cancer, an incurable disease, 7 years after being told she was cured of early stage breast cancer which she developed when she was only 38, on maternity leave with her 5 month-old daughter, and a 20-month-old son. It was a huge shock 7 years later being re-diagnosed with this incurable disease. This personal tragedy has driven Jo’s ambition to support other patients going through the same experience – hence the creation of ABCDiagnosis. Jo has expressed how proud she is for receiving this award for the work that she has done, initially via the ABCDiagnosis website. The site is the only patient-led “one stop shop”, which signposts information and promotes the patient voice. Her regular blogs, also raise awareness of metastatic breast cancer and includes the “red flag signs and symptoms” infographic, which she developed over 8 years ago in response to a lack of understanding and awareness. ABCDiagnosis has since expanded to provide residential motivational retreats which Jo has managed and developed over the last 7 years. More recently ABCDiagnosis created the patient-led Nordic Walking groups around Greater Manchester training over 10 Instructors who now deliver these walks for breast cancer patients. Thousands of patients and their relatives, locally, nationally and world-wide have benefited from ABCDiagnosis. The award also recognises Jo as founder member of METUPUK, the only patient advocacy group in the UK focusing on MBC, which she set up because secondary breast cancer patients were ignored and invisible. They still are, but through METUPUK’s work carried out by amazing volunteers and advocates this is set to change. Jo is determined that metastatic breast cancer patients will be heard, supported and counted whilst alive and not only captured within mortality figures. We wish Jo all the best in the work she continues to undertake on behalf of the breast cancer community despite the difficulties she faces with her own health. We are extremely proud to support her in her endeavours. The Directors of After Breast Cancer Diagnosis