NCA Director General reveals breast cancer diagnosis
Dame Lynne Owens, the Director General of the National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed that she has been diagnosed with treatable breast cancer.
In a post on Twitter today (August 4) she wrote: “Some personal news. I recently received a diagnosis that I have treatable breast cancer. To lead with authenticity & candour I have told our officers & partners, being overwhelmed by messages of support & encouragement.
“This is a personal issue but today we have received a series of questions from a journalist so I have decided to be the one to ‘break’ the story. I don’t intend to detail my personal journey other than at my own time & pace.
“I remain at work & am supported by an outstanding team who will step in for any periods I need to have away. The officers @NCA_UK continue to work tirelessly to protect the public & this blip in my life journey does not in anyway affect that.”
Ms Owens became Director General of the NCA in January 2016 following a 27-year career as a police officer, serving in three forces – the Metropolitan Police Service, Kent Police and Surrey Police.
She was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2008 and appointed CBE for services to policing and criminal justice in 2015. She was made a Dame Commander of the order of the Bath (DCB) in 2020 for being an “exemplary law enforcement system leader, innovatively responding to cutting serious and organised crime and protecting the public in the UK and internationally”.
