October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month; an annual world-wide campaign that aims to raise awareness and knowledge whilst promoting fundraising for medical research and support services.
Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in the UK with one person diagnosed every ten minutes in the UK alone. This means that approximately one-hundred and fifty people are diagnosed a day.
This year is the 25th anniversary of the pink ribbon, the international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Pink has become a colour of recognition and solidarity for not only those who have received a diagnosis but for a community across the globe who want to visibly display their support.
Friday, October 20 is the official ‘wear it pink’ day in which people are asked to put on pink clothing for the day whether it be to work, to university or even for a trip to the shops. Pink Friday has become a yearly event since its launch in 2002, and those who do wear pink are asked to give a small donation.
While the campaign aims to highlight the importance of research into the condition it also hopes to encourage women to check their breasts regularly by transferring knowledge that will allow for early diagnosis.
It is hard to deny the mentality of ignorance amongst most women, myself included, we believe that cancer is something that happens to others, we remove our self from the statistics because we want to believe it would never happen to us. The shocking reality is that breast cancer is a common cancer, and we cannot let our ignorance stop us from checking our boobs.
Charity CoppaFeel, who focus upon awareness amongst younger generations, revealed that 80% of young women do not check their breasts regularly. Early detection is vital when it comes to any form of cancer and with around 5,600 women under the age of fourty-five being diagnosed a year it is more vital than ever to know the symptoms.
The main five symptoms are below, but remember the symptoms can be different for everyone so we recommend getting anything that seems unusual for you checked by your GP.
- Nipple discharge or a nipple that becomes sunken into the breast.
- Change in size or shape of the breast.
- Lump or swelling in the armpit.
- Dimples appearing on the skin
- Nipple Rash.
Another part of our avoidance is the sexual stigma attached to breasts, it is easy to feel uncomfortable checking your boobs because we are taught by society and the media that nipples especially are erotic. CoppaFeel have took the steps to normalise the sight of boobs by launching a minute-long television add that includes shots of full female breast.
The ‘trust your touch’ campaign, launched as a celebration of the awareness month, will be aired during daytime television from October, 16. It features reality television star Olivia Buckland and her partner Alex Bowen using their hands to examine their breast. While the ad will increase women’s confidence when examining their boobs it is relevant that they included the use of male breasts as breast cancer is not exclusive to women.
Around 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Visit https://coppafeel.org or https://www.breastcancercare.org.uk for more information on symptoms, fundraising and how to access support for you and family members. Remember, check your boobs!