'Go get checked' says two-time breast cancer survivor from Scarborough
Jo Laking is wanting people to go for their mammogram and not put it off
A two-time breast cancer survivor from Scarborough is wanting a reduction in the screening age and earlier education.
Jo Laking is urging other women to get checked when told to do so and not put it off.
She was first diagnosed in 2015, after delaying her mammogram twice, and then had a recurrence two years ago.
Jo said: "If you're called for screening then make that appointment and go straight away. It could save your life. Please don't ignore your appointment. You might think 'it might not happen to me' well, let me tell you it does.
"Ladies who find something or they notice any other changes in their breasts don't think 'oh, it's nothing. I'll wait and see', make an appointment with your GP and your GP will refer you. You'll either have your mind put at rest that it was nothing to worry about or you may get a diagnosis.
"Try not to panic. It's a devastating diagnosis to be sat and told that you have breast cancer. It hits you like a frying pan in the face but there's light at the end of the tunnel. I'm a two-time survivor of breast cancer and I can tell the tale. Try not to panic and listen carefully to the things that are told to you.
"I think it's important that the potential risk of a woman to develop breast cancer is discussed at a much younger age. I think we need to be talking to teenage girls because the biggest risk factor of getting breast cancer is having breasts. It doesn't matter what age you are, you can get breast cancer at a very young age.
"I think it'll be a good idea for girls to be taught how to check their breasts from a young age as well so it becomes more commonplace, regular and not as scary. I think also women need to be more aware of their risks of breast cancer and what can contribute.
"They should the age of when screening starts. I think starting at 50 a little bit too late, especially because women can start going through perimenopause in their late 30s and early 40s. I think if we invested more time in screenings earlier then the burden to the NHS to cancer patients will be less because we're catching it earlier."