Unlocking Lobular Steering Group

Annalisa Barbieri is a writer and columnist with The Guardian and has been a journalist for 33 years.

I was 49 and  full time General practitioner when I was diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer. I knew nothing about it then, nor do the colleagues I have spoken to since. As I have learnt more about the disease over the years I have realised how poorly it is understood by both the clinicians and the public.

I am also a patient advocate on Breast Cancer Now’s Scientific Strategy Committee, which is how I met Claire Turner, Interim CEO of Lobular Breast Cancer UK. I wish to move Lobular research forward with the steering group.

I am a Professor of Translational Cancer Pathology at the University of Glasgow and Director of the Glasgow Tissue Research Facility.

My research centres on tumour pathology, biomarker discovery and the tumour microenvironment in colorectal and breast cancer, using large, clinically annotated tissue cohorts to translate pathological insights into personalised patient care.

I am a retired banker from Northern Ireland. In 2023 I was diagnosed with Lobular Breast Cancer. Since retiring, I am a patient advocate and member of the Department of Health Breast Cancer Strategy Forum in Northern Ireland.

Drawing on my lived experience, I work to ensure that the voices of patients are represented in breast cancer policy, service development, and research. I’m currently establishing a support group for people affected by Lobular Breast Cancer in Northern Ireland, with the aim of improving peer support, awareness, and access to information.

This group will be formed in conjunction with the Elevate Programme in NI.  As a member of the Priority Setting Partnership Steering Group, I am is committed to helping identify and prioritise the research questions that matter most to patients, carers, and healthcare professionals.

I have had cancer twice and my resilience defines my journey. At 67, I have dedicated my life to supporting others as a counsellor in Reading and serving my local community.

I am passionate about contributing to cancer research, joining research groups, and fundraising to advance life-saving treatments for others.

For the past 20 years I have worked as a Psychosocial Oncologist. I lead research into the impact of cancer and treatment on individual’s lives and methods for involving different stakeholder groups, particularly patients, in the design and delivery of care. This became all the more pertinent in 2022 when I began my own Loular cancer journey and became a patient.

I assumed when given a diagnosis of Lobular that this would be something I could go and read about as easily as a Ductal breast cancer as it was clearly a type to be given a label. Being an Academic and needing lots of information from evidence-based sources that I could trust, I felt totally lost by the lack of this for Lobular Breast Cancer. 

Then I came across Lobular Breast Cancer UK (LBCUK) and I felt a strong sense of trust when talking with Claire and others. I am extremely proud to now be a trustee of LBCUK. 

I am a Consultant Breast Radiologist at Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, an  honorary clinical senior lecturer at Newcastle University, and the Royal College of Radiologists’ Roentgen Professor 2026.

My main clinical research interests are in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, and I recently set up the Northern Centre for Breast Research at Gateshead Health, which supports multidisciplinary breast research. I work closely with scientists at Newcastle University and supervise a number of doctoral students. I’m a strong advocate for supporting research engagement among radiologists, and together with the RCR Academic Committee I’m leading projects to identify and address the challenges that face radiologists engaging in research activities. Recently I set up BRIGHT (Breast Research Imaging Group for Higher Trainees), a national trainee research network, to encourage collaborative multicentre projects for the next generation of breast radiology researchers.

I also have a wide range of other professional roles including Executive Committee Officer/Treasurer of the British Society of Breast Radiology, Member of the RCR Academic Committee, Member of the RCR Professional Practice Board, Member of the NICE breast cancer committee, Advisory Editor (breast) for Clinical Radiology, Associate Editor (breast) for British Journal of Radiology, and member of the NIHR Imaging Group.

I’m a Chartered Psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at De Montfort University. I’m also a founder member of The Men’s Virtual Meet Up (VMU); an online support resource for men diagnosed with breast cancer, which was borne out of my PhD research on this topic.

I’m interested in psycho-oncology and redressing cancer inequalities, and my published works to date largely focus on furthering understandings of lived experiences of underrepresented cancers.

I’ve worked in collaboration with Lobular Breast Cancer UK to develop a series of digital postcards designed to assist patients in conversations with their medical teams, and presented research on Lobular Breast Cancer at an academic conference in 2025.

The question “How has 7cm of tumour been missed on a mammogram?” was what started me on my journey to setting up LBCUK.

I was diagnosed with Lobular Carcinoma in Situ, a risk factor for breast cancer, in 2014 after first visiting my GP two years before with a strange sensation in my breast. I had a lumpectomy but no invasive breast cancer was found.

It wasn’t until 2017, returning again to the Breast Clinic with a now prominent dent in my breast, that 1cm of a Stage 2 invasive Lobular Breast Cancer tumour was finally found on a mammogram. 

As I began speaking more with international researchers and clinicians, and meeting other patient advocates from around the world, I realised that we needed things to change here in the UK.

I decided to set up Lobular Breast Cancer UK and put a call out across social media. Eight incredible women, all who had had a Lobular Breast Cancer diagnosis, stepped up to help launch the charity.