Action Cancer urges women to be their own ‘Breast Friends’ this International Women’s Month

To celebrate International Women’s Month, leading NI charity Action Cancer is encouraging women to be their own ‘Breast Friends’ and book a breast screening appointment online.

Now in its fiftieth anniversary year, Action Cancer offers 8,000 breast screening appointments per year to women aged 40-49 and over 70. These women fall outside of the NHS screening age range of 50 – 70.

The free life-saving service is available both at Action Cancer House in Belfast and on board the Big Bus mobile screening unit which travels to over 200 locations each year.

This year, Action Cancer has teamed up with local online car insurance company its4women.co.uk to urge local women to take action and participate in the ‘Breast Friends’ fundraising campaign in order to support the running cost of the breast screening service.

With no regular government funding Action Cancer raises funds to support screenings through the Breast Friends fundraising campaign, with cash generated then matched by its4women.co.uk.

Action Cancer’s Public Fundraising Manager, Leigh Osborne, explains why women in the 40-49 and over 70 age groups should proactively book a screening:

“Women in 2023 lead such busy lives, often juggling work commitments with looking after family members and organising household duties. Personal health and wellbeing can drop to the bottom of the priority list. So I am appealing to women to take time out of their busy schedules to put their own health first."

"Book a breast screening appointment. It will only take five minutes and the appointment itself will take no longer than half an hour."

“For every 1,000 breast screenings Action Cancer completes, it detects six cancers. Early detection makes a massive difference to treatment outcomes."

Action Cancer’s programme screens women with no signs or symptoms of breast cancer. Appointments are available up to six weeks in advance and new appointments are released regularly."

Leigh adds: “It’s important to stress the service is free to the user. However, each appointment costs the charity £120."

"Fundraising allows us to deliver the breast screening service. Through our Breast Friends campaign we encourage groups of friends to organise a catch up and raise much needed funds at the same time. You could hold a coffee morning, pamper day or spring garden party, at home, in your local salon, gym or anywhere of your choosing."

"The money we raise through the campaign is then generously matched by local online insurance company its4women.co.uk. We are immensely grateful for their support, which has been in place since 2019. It means we can double our reach, and twice as many women can benefit from the service.”

Speaking about the partnership, Its4women Marketing Manager, Kerry Beckett says:

“With financial matching from Its4women the Breast Friends campaign has raised £192,185 since 2019 enabling 1,826 breast screenings for local women. Given Action Cancer detects six cancers for every 1,000 appointments, money raised from the campaign will have led to the detection of at least nine cancers. These women would not have been accessing a breast screening through another channel which is why this breast screening service is so important.

“Its4women is committed to working with Action Cancer in its fiftieth anniversary year, to benefit as many women as possible, whether that is by booking an appointment for a potentially lifesaving breast screening or matching all public fundraising up to a total value of £90,000 over three years.”

Action Cancer Charity Ambassador and cancer survivor Michelle Cowan is reiterating the importance of the screening service.

The 53 year old mum of two from Newtownabbey is certain that a breast screening at Action Cancer House in 2017 saved her life.

"It was my best friend in work who encouraged me to go for my first breast screening, I was 43 at the time. My best friend’s sister had been diagnosed at the age of 37 and it had recently come back when she was aged 41."

"With breast cancer at the forefront of my mind I decided to take action. We phoned up to make our appointments and went together one day after work. We were both quite nervous so it was nice to go along together and to support each other. I didn’t find the screening uncomfortable, it was pretty quick and easy.”

Within two weeks, both Michele and her colleague received clear results. Two years later Action Cancer wrote to both women to invite them to attend their routine screening.

The friends went along and were pleased to receive clear results. It was another two years later in April 2017, when Michele, attended for her third screening that something was detected by Action Cancer and she was then referred on for further investigation.

Following treatment and subsequent medication, Michelle received the all clear and has made it her mission to support the work of Action Cancer.

She said "I am so thankful to Action Cancer for detecting my cancer at an early and treatable stage which has allowed me to enjoy my life and spend this quality time with my daughters doing the sport we love.”