2nd Annual Global Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day October 15th, 2025
As part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, October 15th is designated as Global Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day to shine a spotlight on the 15% of breast cancer diagnoses each year that are invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), also known as lobular breast cancer. As the 2nd most common type of breast cancer with over 46,000 women diagnosed each year in the US, ILC receives less than 1% of breast cancer research funding. Because ILC behaves differently than other breast cancer types and may not always form a lump, it is extremely hard to detect on mammograms, especially in women with dense breast tissue.
This leads to the shared story of so many individuals with ILC: delayed diagnoses despite regular screening when tumors are larger or already metastatic. Once diagnosed, ILC is treated the same as other types of breast cancer despite scientific consensus that ILC behaves differently. This is the current reality of ILC that is our mission to change, ILC needs more research and targeted treatments.
Join the Movement to Raise Awareness of Lobular Breast Cancer
We’re a month away from lobular breast cancer’s important day and are hard at work to raise awareness of ILC across the globe. Plans are in the works to hold awareness raising events, both in person and virtual, across the globe in 2025. You can join the movement around the world by helping us reach our goal to raise $150K for ILC research, recording a reel of your ILC story to share on social media, participating in an event in your community or distributing ILC educational materials at a local cancer center.
Help Us Raise 150K for ILC Research by Oct. 15th
For October 15th this year we are shining a spotlight on the fact that ILC is understudied and needs more research. We aim to raise $150,000 to fund more ILC research including on the even less studied ILC subtypes, the metastatic tumor environment, and dormancy.
Thanks to generous donors, we’re able to match up to $75,000 of your gifts through Oct 15th. Please consider giving $150 today or any increment of 15, for the 15% by the 15th and know that your gift will be matched. Research is desperately needed to end the “one-size-fits-all” approach for lobular diagnoses and treatment plans. Help us accelerate more ILC specific research!
Brenda did it and you can too! Setting up your fundraiser online takes just a few minutes, and every dollar raised will fuel research to better understand, detect, and treat lobular breast cancer. In this video, Brenda, LBCA patient advocate volunteer, shares how rewarding and simple it was to launch her own peer-to-peer fundraiser online with LBCA. Friends and family rallied around her, thanking her for giving them a way to show their support. Her success in reaching and exceeding her goal in just 3 days is proof that one person’s action can spark a ripple of impact.
Together, we can reach $150K for the 15% by the 15th! Create Your Fundraiser Now. If you have any questions, contact Development Associate, Carrie Burns.
Global Awareness Day Events
Events are being planned around the world to raise awareness and educate about lobular breast cancer including seminars and webinars for clinicians and researchers, presentations for the public and forums for patients and their families. The day will again convene with the opening bell of the Toronto Stock Market in Canada!
Learn more about the confirmed events in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, The Netherlands and United Kingdom; as well as in California, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington in the US on our event calendar here and check back for more updates!
US State Governor's Proclamations
With your help, we have applications for Governor’s Proclamations in the works in 30 US States to declare October 15th Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day plus a mayor’s proclamation in Toronto, Canada!
Official declarations have been received in Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas and Kansas – – stay tuned for more updates!
Share Your ILC Story
Patients and Families Share Their Story
Sharing the stories of individuals diagnosed with lobular breast cancer helps raise awareness of the shared experiences so many with ILC face: a cancer missed by regular imaging, diagnosed later and larger, with no specific treatments.
As part of our October 15th we share video reels across social media, which receive thousands of views. You can see more samples of these below or watch Karen’s. We invite you to share yours, reach out to Communications@lbca.org to find out how.
Download Materials to Spread the Word
Bring our Oct. 15th campaign materials including the flyer, ILC fact sheet and talking points and our ILC brochure into your local library, hospital or community health center on October 15th and we will include your act of education and awareness raising on our map! Send us an email with questions or to let us know your plans at communications@lbca.org.
Check the October 15th Global Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day page here for more updates!