Breast Awareness – It’s Not Just For The Over 50’s!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month has gained even more attention this year, with a massive amount of media exposure highlighting the need for lifestyle changes and regular screening. However, women under 50 years old are not normally eligible for breast screening under the current NHS programme. This is not just about the cost - the problem is that mammograms are less effective in detecting breast cancer in pre-menopausal women because their breasts are made up of denser tissue, which the X-ray is less able to penetrate.
If a younger women is considered to have a higher risk of developing breast cancer because of family history, support, information and screening should be made available according to individual needs – see the Macmillan website for more info on this.
But what about everyone else? According to Cancer Research UK, in 2006 more than 45,500 women in the UK were diagnosed with breast cancer. They say that 8 in 10 breast cancers are diagnosed in women aged 50 and over – so utilising my rather dodgy maths, I work this out to be over 9000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in women under 50.
I’ll be honest, even though I personally know three women under 40 that have had breast cancer, I hadn’t really given too much thought to the scale of this issue. But then last night, despite my usual aversion to award shows of any kind, I ended up watching the Pride of Britain Awards. I was blubbing my way through it along with the rest of the nation when one young woman’s story really made me sit up and pay attention.
Kristin Hallenga, aged 23, is living with advanced breast cancer. Rather than allow it to defeat her, she has used the experience as a launchpad for her own campaign – the brilliantly named Coppa Feel. The campaign is aimed at young women – not only to inform them about breast cancer but also to empower and encourage them to seek the correct professional advice. Check out Kris’ website and her blog. And please tell all the young ladies in your life to do the same.
Helen
Co-ordinator