Lobular breast cancer campaigner calls for NHS MRI funding on final day of awareness month
Tristan, whose wife Susan died of lobular breast cancer in 2025, told Sky News that NHS MRI scans and targeted research are needed to catch the disease earlier.
How it was covered
- Sky News was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on Tristan's personal story and the case for MRI funding.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, Channel 4, GB News and ITV: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Sky News marked the final day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month with an interview with Tristan, a campaigner for lobular breast cancer. He used the appearance to call for NHS funding for MRI scans and more research into the disease.
In the Sky News interview, Tristan said his wife Susan founded the Lobular Moonshot Project during her illness. He described how a 1mm mark on her left breast appeared with no lump or pain. A mammogram and ultrasound were clear, he said, and a second round three months later was also reported as fine.
Sky News reported that her oncologist ordered a biopsy and a private MRI, which Tristan said was not available on the NHS at the time. After a double mastectomy, the scan revealed 7cm of lobular breast cancer that had been invisible on two mammograms and two ultrasounds.
Tristan told Sky News that lobular breast cancer accounts for about 15% to 19% of cases and rarely forms a lump. He said mammograms work well for the main type of breast cancer, which makes up around 85% of cases, but lobular cells grow in single file and are hard for imaging to pick up.
According to Sky News, Susan developed secondary breast cancer in 2021 after her mastectomy and years of treatment. Tristan said they learned her treatments were non-specific and not designed for lobular cancer. He said researchers told them the disease had not been properly studied.
Sky News reported that the family founded the Lobular Moonshot Project to fund a five-year, £20m research study. Tristan said the campaign had become the most politically supported in modern British history. Sky News played a Commons exchange in which the prime minister reaffirmed a commitment to support the project.
Tristan told Sky News that 1,000 people a day are diagnosed with the disease worldwide, including 22 a day in the UK. He said secondary breast cancer is the main killer of women from their late 20s to their late 60s. He urged anyone with doubts to pay for a private MRI scan.
He said six people had called him after paying for a private MRI to say they had breast cancer and thanked him for saving their lives. Sky News reported that he wanted more MRI scans and ultimately NHS provision.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Tristan said his wife Susan had a 7cm lobular breast cancer that two mammograms and two ultrasounds missed. | |
| Tristan said lobular breast cancer accounts for about 15% to 19% of cases and rarely forms a lump. | |
| Tristan said the campaign had become the most politically supported in modern British history. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News gave the story a long, sympathetic studio interview with Tristan, built around his wife's missed diagnosis and his argument that mammograms and ultrasound can fail with lobular cancer. It emphasised the need for private or NHS MRI scans and a £20m research study, and framed the campaign as winning cross-party political support. There was no clinical or NHS response and no challenge to the funding claims.
- “For me the best money you can spend is to do a private mri scan”
- “she had seven centimeters of lobular breast cancer that was invisible on two mammograms and two ultrasounds”
- “we need to do more mri scans”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 09:25 GMT
- 09:25 GMT
- 09:26 GMT
Andy Burnham, prime minister
Mornings with Jones and Melbourne · Sat 31 Oct
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.