Breast Cancer Support Gibraltar prepares for 20th anniversary under new leadership

Heidi Jeffries has been appointed the new Chairperson of Breast Cancer Support Gibraltar, taking over the role previously held by Mercy Posso for a number of years.

The organisation is set to mark its 20th anniversary in 2027, years spent campaigning and fundraising to transform cancer care with better services, equipment and also an oncology suite in St Bernard’s Hospital.

“Mercy always said that her vision was to have a mirror image of what we have back in the UK in the Royal Marsden. She said, I want an oncology suite here.”

After years of “hard work and meetings left, right and centre, with the ministers and with the oncology,” that vision has now been realised.

She reflected on how far local cancer care has come. The previous chemotherapy suite was described as small, crowded and lacking in privacy.

“There was no privacy. There was only one room. You had the curtains, but people could still hear,” she said.

“Where the nurses station was gave no privacy, maybe they wanted to speak about something in confidence, but it was not possible.”

For many patients, side effects can be intimate or distressing to discuss.

She added that not everybody's side effects are the same.

The new oncology suite, by contrast, offers private rooms alongside larger bays, designed to provide dignity and comfort.

“The new suite is amazing, and has a few private rooms, as well as the bigger bays,” said Mrs Jeffries.
Crucially, cancer patients now move more seamlessly through the system.

“Now, when a cancer patient needs to be seen by a doctor, they don't have to go through A&E, they go straight up,” she said, noting that this cuts waiting time and reduces exposure to infection in shared areas.

She is keen to stress that the oncology suite is the product of sustained local support.

“We don't like to blow our own trumpets, but it's thanks to Breast Cancer [the charity], we have managed this, with the community, because our fundraising comes from the community, as in our flag days, our Walkers for Knockers and Pink October, or Move the Boob, which is quite big in the sense that we get schools involved and fitness groups.”

Over the years, the charity has helped fund nurses and key equipment not only for breast cancer patients, but for the wider community. This includes a cold cap, ultrasound machine and a biopsy chair for radiology.

The charity also works with local partners to improve quality of life for patients. In collaboration with Marks & Spencer Gibraltar, newly diagnosed patients receive a voucher for a free bra.

“Inside the bags that we prepare for new patients, there's a voucher for a free bra from Marks and Spencer, which is wonderful,” she said.

“Just the fact that there's might not mean much to you, but for the patient it's a big thing. It's the actual act, the gesture, which makes the difference.”

The charity has also been instrumental in lowering the age for routine mammograms locally.

“In the UK, as you might know, it's 50 for mammograms. We were instrumental in lowering the age to 40,” said Mrs Jeffries.

This focus on early detection is paying off.

“As we say, mammogram is your life insurance, the amount of routine mammograms that have picked up cancers,” she said, citing a friend diagnosed following a routine check: “She was 46, it was a routine mammogram, and it got picked up. It makes a difference, it really does.”

However, the charity remains worried about a “high percentage of non-attendance” for mammograms, which Mrs Jeffries attributes largely to fear and perceptions of discomfort.

“Many, many have said to me, ‘Oh, I'm not going to mammogram because it's really painful’,” she4 said.

“As I always say to everybody, you have to weigh the consequences, like a couple of seconds of because it's not even pain. It's, like, uncomfortable, yeah, but that can be your insurance, your life insurance."

At the same time, the profile of patients is shifting.

“We do have 20-odd year-olds and 30-odd year-olds with breast cancer… When I started in the charity, it was like 40-odd, 50s, but now 20-odd,” she said.

Yet success rates are improving.

“Before, breast cancer, it was like a taboo. But now I think that out of all the cancers, breast and prostate are the ones with more success rates,” she added.

With the oncology suite delivered, the charity is now looking to the future.

Internally, it has refreshed its committee, with new members, a new secretary and treasurer, and plans for “a subcommittee just for fundraising, so we can dedicate ourselves to the GHA.”

Events planned for 2026 include Walkers for Knockers, Move the Boob, a popular Pink Party which is “always sold out” and a tapas night in the summer with music and dancing.

Looking to 2027, the charity is determined to mark its 20th anniversary in style.

“We want to make it bigger and better,” she said as the team start work on bringing the various surprises to fruition.

For more information visit: www.facebook.com/breastcancersupportgibraltar