Runcorn mums battling cancer are making seconds count

Two remarkable mums from Runcorn are campaigning to raise awareness of secondary breast cancer.

Friends Danielle Burns, aged 42, and Lynsey Harrison, 49, both married with children, have each been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Lynsey’s diagnosis dates back to 2016. Despite rigorous treatments including Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Herceptin and Lumpectomy surgery she was told in March this year that she now has incurable secondary breast cancer after the disease spread to the linings of her lungs.
Danielle was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. She underwent a similar treatment regime and has recently completed further Chemotherapy following recurrence of the original cancer and the discovery of a new tumour. She is waiting to find out if it has been successful.
Their cancer battles have seen them forge an even closer friendship and a determination to raise awareness and funding for ‘Make 2nds Count’, a UK-wide patient and family-focused charity dedicated to giving hope to women and men living with secondary (metastatic) breast cancer.

On Saturday, October 18, the pair organised the ‘Breastie Ball’, a black-tie occasion staged at The Heath Business and Technical Park’s Events Hall in Runcorn, attended by over 240 family, friends and guests who raised an incredible £12,500 for Make 2nds Count.
Danielle said: “Our campaign is all about raising money for secondary breast cancer, this is when the original breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body and is then incurable. We feel that more research and funding is needed to give secondary breast cancer patients a better prognosis.”
Danielle says she and Lynsey were friends before their diagnosis and became even closer when they were being treated for the disease: “We created an online Facebook group ‘Halton Breasties’ and the idea grew from there. We wanted to raise money for a charity close to Lynsey’s heart and Make 2nds Count have been a massive part of her journey.
“Our aim is to encourage more education about secondary breast cancer, and our ball has helped to do that, an amazing event that brought the local community together. Me and Lynsey were both in active treatment during the whole process, so it was a massive achievement for us both!”
Lynsey said: “We decided to stage our ball in October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We put tickets on sale back in June and they sold out instantly, snapped up by people across our local community. We’ve been overwhelmed by the level of support. At the moment, we have raised £12,500 between our Just Giving page and from the Breastie Ball, and we still have more donations to come in.”
Anthony Stonebanks, The Heath’s Events and Conferencing Manager, said: "Danielle approached me at the beginning of the year to discuss this amazing event. The organisation and effort put in by everyone involved were commendable. It was a pleasure to support them and to witness over 240 attendees having such a great time for such a worthy cause. The event ran smoothly, and we sincerely thank them for choosing The Heath as their venue."
More/2

Danielle and Lynsey say they are already planning a similar ball at The Heath next year.
And it’s still not too late to donate to this year’s fundraising effort at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/danielle-burns-1?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=CL
For more information you can contact Danielle and Lynsey @breastieball on Instagram or on their Facebook pages.
For more information about events at The Heath go to: www.theheath.com

About Make 2nds Count
Make 2nds Count is a nationwide patient and family-focused charity dedicated to giving hope to women and men living with secondary (metastatic) breast cancer. The charity say research into secondary breast cancer is underfunded and it is committed to funding secondary breast cancer research which can contribute to advancing an increased quality of life for patients.
The charity say their in-person and online programme helps their widespread community with information sharing, practical advice and support, wellbeing activities and facilitating peer-to-peer friendship groups. “Education is key to everything that we do, and we aim to raise awareness of secondary breast cancer through effective marketing and education programmes across the UK. We also empower our community by increasing their knowledge and understanding of research, treatments, trials and options.”
www.make2ndscount.co.uk

Picture Note: Lynsey Harrison left with Danielle Burns
Media contact: Paul Smith, Paul Smith Associates (PSA) E-mail: paul@paulsmithassociates.co.uk

Issued on behalf of The Heath Business and Technical Park, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 4QX — Part of the SOG Group

About The Heath
The Heath Business and Technical Park is a phenomenal regeneration success story. Formed in 2000, its owner and operator, SOG Ltd, has transformed a once single occupancy corporate facility into a thriving independent business park. The Heath now provides office and laboratory accommodation for more than 120 individual organisations, ranging from business services and IT specialists to those at the cutting edge of science, research and advanced manufacturing. Around 2,000 people are employed at the site. For further information, telephone 01928 515988 or visit www.theheath.com

For more information, please see:
www.theheath.com

PAUL SMITH ASSOCIATES
27th October 2025