The Centre for Building Resilience in Breast Cancer (BRiC)
“I felt like I was given a chance to survive, but not to live”
Vickie Filby, Deputy Head of BRiC
Every 9 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK. While more women are surviving this disease, the psychological cost of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment side effects runs high. Increased levels of anxiety and depression, especially after active treatment for primary breast cancer, have shown to impair quality of life for many years.
I founded ‘The Centre for Building Resilience in Breast Cancer (BRiC)’, to address this urgent need and to help women like myself re-build resilience and to feel empowered while surviving primary or metastatic breast cancer. BRiC became the first Psycho-educational centre to use cutting edge methods, informed by my own research, to empower women with the knowledge and tools they need to live well in survivorship.
BRiC’s Mission
Our main aim is empowering women in survivorship. Our research and outreach programmes are recognised nationally and internationally. We have won awards for our public engagement activities and have created a supportive community network for women to learn, share and support each other.
Signature
BRiC’s Collective Voice is our unique signature. It is a collection of over 2000 voices of women in BRiC’s community network which we have compiled and produced for patients, survivors and their friends as well as health professionals and policy makers. Raising awareness of the experiences and needs of women with primary or metastatic disease we have offered practical tips and research led evidence and advice on how you can live well in survivorship.
Research
Using cutting-edge research, we identify the unique psychological needs of women with either a primary or metastatic diagnosis of breast cancer and build better interventions to boost resilience and growth. Our research team is made of senior as well as junior researchers.
Support
Our unique psychoeducational support network offers peer support and understanding, supervised daily activities to boost resilience and growth and unlimited empathy. With over 2,200 members we are open to any UK woman with a breast cancer diagnosis. Our amazing support team are there 24/7!
About Us
BRiC was founded by Professor Nazanin Derakhshan late 2015 after her own diagnosis in 2013. BRiC was officially recognised as an Integrative Centre for the Research and Practice of Resilience at Birkbeck University of London in 2018. BRiC conducts cutting edge research to better the lives of women post breast cancer diagnosis and beyond. BRiC’s award winning psychoeducational support network has over 2,200 UK members with a primary or metastatic diagnosis of breast cancer and a dedicated admin team who look after members and supervise resilience building activities.
Click on Testimonials below to see what members say about BRiC.
