One year on: How a global pledge is changing the way the world counts metastatic breast cancer

One year ago, Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) joined forces with Breast Cancer Now (UK) and Rethink Breast Cancer (Canada) to sign a landmark pledge: a shared commitment to ensure that everyone living with metastatic breast cancer is counted, recognised and supported in health systems worldwide.

Twelve months on, we are proud to share what this partnership between countries has helped achieve.

Australia leads the way with a world-first national count

The most significant milestone of the past year took place on home soil. In November 2025, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) announced that approximately 20,950 Australians (20,800 women and 150 men) were living with metastatic breast cancer (as at 31 December 2024). 

This figure is more than double the previous 2020 estimate of 10,553, highlighting what BCNA has long known: people living with metastatic breast cancer have been invisible to decision makers and to a health system that isn’t set up to manage their unique needs.

This historic national estimate was made possible through world-first linked-data methods, combining state-based cancer registry data and hospital records with national pharmaceutical subsidy data. 

BCNA is now working alongside the Australian Cancer Data Alliance, led by AIHW, to drive national accountability and embed MBC data initiatives into Australia's National Cancer Data Framework. 

We don’t just want a one-off count, we need a continuous picture of the number of people living with metastatic breast cancer across the country - so that our government and health system can plan and act accordingly.

UK government commits to count recurrent cancers

In February 2026, the UK Government's National Cancer Plan for England made a landmark commitment to define and count recurrent cancers, starting with metastatic breast cancer in 2026. 

This is a significant step forward for the National Audit of Metastatic Breast Cancer (NAoMe) and the result of years of sustained advocacy by Breast Cancer Now and people living with the disease.

Breast Cancer Now also held an installation 'I don't count?' outside the Scottish Parliament in November 2025, keeping pressure on decision-makers to follow through on existing data commitments.

Canada builds momentum toward a count

In Canada, there is still no national metastatic breast cancer estimate, because recurrence data is not collected consistently across the country's different health systems. But meaningful momentum is building.

Rethink Breast Cancer completed an environmental scan to identify where data is the strongest and where a pilot approach would be most feasible. 

Rethink Breast Cancer is now advancing discussions with Ontario Health and the British Columbia Cancer Agency to explore how metastatic breast cancer data collection can be prioritised, with plans to launch a provincial pilot in 2026.

The unfinished agenda

Progress on metastatic breast cancer data must translate into progress on care for all of those living with the disease. 

Health equity gaps also remain and must be addressed. People from Indigenous communities, regional and remote areas, culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and other historically underserved populations are at risk of being left behind. 

We will continue to advocate for all Australians living with metastatic breast cancer to be counted and cared for, regardless of where they live. Every single person living with metastatic breast cancer counts, and we will ensure they are always represented and never invisible in our health system and to our decision makers.

For Breast Cancer Network Australia, this is more than a reflection on progress – it is a commitment to every person living with metastatic breast cancer that we will continue to stand alongside those with the disease, amplify their voices and advocate for the care, support and recognition they deserve. 

One year on, BCNA, Breast Cancer Now and Rethink Breast Cancer remain united in our commitment to make metastatic breast cancer count – in data, in policy and in care.

Read the full one-year progress report