October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Brighton women urged to take up screening

Fewer people in Brighton and Hove take up screening than in many other areas in the country, with only just over 60%[iii]going to screening appointments in 2021.

According to Macmillan, 55,000 people a year are diagnosed with breast cancer. If diagnosed at stage 1, 95% of people with breast cancer in England survive their disease for five years or more. By stage 4 this drops to 25%.

One of ACT’s volunteers, Irene, believes her life was saved because she attended a regular screening appointment.

She said: “If I can persuade women to do just one thing, then it’s to go and get screened when the invitation drops through the letterbox. I know it’s easy to put it off. I know it’s a nuisance and most of us dread it but it’s much, much better than the alternative”.

“I was lucky. My cancer was caught in time. And because it was caught early, my treatment went well, and it saved my life. The support and care I received were incredible; The Park Breast Care Centre, Macmillan, and the team at ACT, with whom I now volunteer, supported me throughout”.

Early detection, via screening and self-checking, is vital and potentially lifesaving. As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as well as asking women of screening age to make screening appointments, ACT are asking women of all ages to regularly check their breasts and go to their GP if they have any concerns. It’s also important that trans men or people assigned female at birth also seek out screening.

National charity, CoppaFeel, have an online guide to self checking. Dr Onyeka Erobu, Senior Health Manager at the Trust for Developing Communities, encourages all women to be aware of any changes to their breasts or nipples.

She said: “It’s important that we know what our bodies look and feel like by getting used to checking them – knowing what’s normal for you. That can help us tell when something doesn’t seem quite right, which is when we should have a medical professional double check.

”Most of the time, the abnormalities we feel when we self-check are nothing sinister. However, one in ten people may go on to need further treatment, so that check could be crucial to the success of their treatment and recovery”.

Breast cancer awareness month takes place throughout October. If you have any concerns about any of the issues raised, please contact the ACT team on 01273 234768 or visit actoncancertogether.org.uk. They can help you with things like going to an appointment or finding other information or support.

If you would like one of the ACT team to visit or a talk to you or your community, please contact us on 01273 234768 or [email protected].