Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer

An award-winning, community-focused Breast Cancer charity raising money for cancer support through our Hugs in a Bags campaign and always supporting fighters and survivors across the West Midlands. Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer was established in 2000 by Veronica Kumeta and the late Sue Macmaster, after their friend Carol Knaggs was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Having raised money for Breast Cancer before the idea was to control where the money went, rather than giving it to national charities, so we contacted the Queen Elizabeth Birmingham and started working exclusively with them. But their legacy lives on…

Despite losing two close friends, Veronica continued with the charity and recruited a group of local female volunteers in 2000, with the aim of raising both funds and awareness of the disease. Since 2000, Ladies Fight Breast Cancer has given over £1 million to the QE’s Cancer Unit, which has helped fund new medical equipment and create a ‘centre of excellence’. This equipment includes a Mobile Mammogram Trailer to allow up to ten women an hour to be x-rayed in their local area; an Ultra Sound Scanner for diagnosing breast disease; a Cooling Cap to reduce hair loss during treatment; and a Faxitron X-Ray Machine that enables microscopic clarity during biopsies. With a packed calendar of fundraising activities, all of the money stays within the West Midlands, helping Breast Cancer patients within a 70-mile radius of the hospital. This means if you donate money to us, you can see exactly where it’s going and how it’s being spent. And with one person every 10 minutes being diagnosed with the disease in the UK, it’s important to fund front-line services to ensure that patients are getting the best possible treatment. We have now launched a £1 Million Appeal to fund important ‘soft services’ at the QE Hospital that go beyond the means of the NHS. In 2015, when the Breast Cancer Unit moves to its new location at the QE, we want to fund a patients’ lounge, hair salon, beauty treatments and bra-fitting services. Have a look at how you can help us achieve that over on our Support Us pages and sign up to some of our Events to help raise money.