Promoting breast health awareness and getting to know your normal

Manveet Basra

Head of Public Health and Wellbeing, Breast Cancer Now

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, around 5,000 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Whatever your age, it’s important to be breast aware.

October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month — 31 days dedicated to spotlighting breast cancer. With one woman diagnosed with breast cancer every 10 minutes, it’s a vital opportunity to spread breast awareness messages to all sectors of society.

Get to know your normal

It’s so important to be breast aware and get to know ‘your normal’ and understand what’s new or different for you. While most breast changes — including breast lumps — are not cancer, it’s important to get any new or unusual change checked by your GP. On the occasions it is breast cancer, the sooner it is diagnosed, the better the chances of treatment being successful.

Checking your breasts only takes a few minutes. It could be while getting dressed, showering or putting on moisturiser. Check your whole breast area, armpits and up to your collarbone (upper chest) for changes. There’s no special technique — it’s as simple as TLC: Touch, Look, Check.

In 2020/21, almost a million fewer women in England were screened for breast cancer.

No time to waste

At Breast Cancer Now, we’re acutely aware of the pandemic continuing to present unparalleled challenges for people affected by breast cancer. In 2020/21, almost a million fewer women in England were screened for breast cancer as a result of the disruption. Despite the valiant efforts of NHS staff, we estimate that as of July 2022, almost 8,000 people are living with undiagnosed breast cancer in England.

Breast screening is vital in detecting breast cancer early — when treatment is more likely to be successful. This is why we encourage women to attend breast screening appointments when invited and why we’ve relentlessly shone a spotlight on this backlog. As part of our #notimetowaste campaign, we’re calling for the Government to urgently set out how it will address the screening shortfall and find these missing women and for a more ambitious target for patients receiving a breast cancer diagnosis or having it ruled out within 28 days of urgent referral.