Liverpool skyline to shine a light on secondary breast cancer by lighting up venues in the charity's colours
Photography by Jennifer Willis Photography.

3 Liverpool venues will join over 50 others UK wide as part of the campaign created by Secondary Breast Cancer charity, Make 2nds Count Make 2nds Count has confirmed that:- Liverpool Town Hall, St Georges Town Hall and St Helens Bridge will be joining this nationwide spectacle taking place on:- 13 October 2023; Secondary Breast Cancer Day; which features more than 50 iconic sites dazzling proudly in the distinctive pink, purple and teal of the campaigning charity.

On October 13, 2023, these venues will join many others across the UK and shine brightly in the charity's colours, pink, purple and teal, as part of the national campaign designed to:- "Shine a Light" on:- "Secondary Breast Cancer Day," which is often overlooked amidst the wider narrative around:- Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October).

The charity's latest survey of over 100 patients found that many struggled to find information and support following their diagnosis and that there was no regular discussion of the side effects of treatment and the immense impact on their quality of life.

62% did not find it easy to access information and support and the vast majority (95%) said there is a need for more informed support to help patients and their families deal with the repercussions of such a life changing diagnosis. Nearly 7 out of 10 (69%) of respondents also revealed that the side effects of treatment had an even greater impact on their quality of life than they had expected.

As a result, a huge part of this year's:- 'Shine a Light' campaign revolves around the:- 'Make 2nds Count' patient community and includes a striking collection of photos:- 'Truth be Told,' which showcases the visible and hidden aspects of living with secondary breast cancer.

The images, shot by photographer Jennifer Willis from Northern Ireland, aim to shine a light on both sides of daily life; the challenges and the hope, strength and positivity. Some of the amazing women from the patient community across the whole of the UK also share their stories of living well with secondary breast cancer in an inspiring series of videos.

It's estimated that 61,000 people in the UK are currently living with metastatic breast cancer, also known as secondary or advanced breast cancer, a form of the disease that has spread beyond the breast to other parts of the body. It claims 1,000 lives each month in the UK; that's an average of 31 deaths every day.

The 'Truth Be Told' campaign will run from:- 1 October 2023, the start of the wider Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It will complement the:- 'Shine a Light on Secondaries' activity that takes place on:- 13 October 2023; Secondary Breast Cancer Day featuring more than 50 iconic sites.

For more information on this campaign and to see the full gallery of Truth Be Told images and videos along with more information, as well as advice on getting support on secondary breast cancer, please visit:- Make2ndsCount.Co.UK.

GoPro footage shows water technology fitted underneath Northern passenger train blasting disruptive fallen leaves from the track

NEW footage has been released by Northern showing the cutting-edge technology they are testing that blasts leaves from the path of their trains.

Fallen leaves can cause significant disruption to the network. Leaves stick to damp rails and passing trains compress them into a:- smooth, slippery layer, reducing trains' grip. This can cause delays to services, which lead to disruption for passengers. But Northern has partnered with top engineers and experts to trial what they are calling:- 'rail head treatment technology' this autumn that is attached to the undercarriage of passenger trains and could save the rail industry millions of pounds every year.

The technology; called Water-Trak - is based on the discovery that leaf coated rails only become slippery if damp, noting that trains still stop safely in heavy rain. Water-Trak simply creates rainy day conditions on the rail surface by spraying a small amount of water from the train onto the track when a slippery rail is detected. This cleans the rail and makes the conditions better for braking.

At the moment, railway lines are cleaned using dedicated railhead treatment trains, also known as RHTTs, but there are only a limited number of these trains available, so they can't treat the whole of the network.

RHTTs are also expensive to run, so they are mainly used to clean high traffic, intercity lines, which means some rural and branch lines are left untreated, whereas Water Trak can be fitted to existing passenger services.

5 Northern trains fitted with Water Trak will be operating this autumn on routes between Liverpool, Wigan and Manchester as well as between Leeds, Harrogate and York. The trials with Northern are being run thanks to funding from Network Rail's Performance Innovation Fund.

Rob Cummings, seasonal performance improvement manager at Northern, said:- "We're pleased to be working with Water-Trak to try and provide a better, more reliable service in tricky autumn conditions. This is the next stage of this trial that we hope will take us closer to our goal."

By next autumn a further 11 trains will have the Water Trak system fitted.

John Cooke, co-founder at Water-Trak, said:- "Slippery rails are a massive problem for the rail industry, and we hope to play a big part in resolving this issue. We're hoping that by working with Northern we can make autumn disruption a thing of the past."

Northern is the 2nd largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.