WOMEN in Dumfries and Galloway are being urged to check their breasts regularly for the signs and symptoms of cancer.
The call by Breast Cancer Now comes after it emerged that 44 per cent of women in the UK don’t carry out checks and ten per cent have never checked themselves.
Reasons given included forgetting, not being in the habit and lacking confidence or know how.
So, throughout October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the charity wants everyone to ‘get to know their normal’.
Manveet Basra, from Breast Cancer Now, said: “During Breast Cancer Awareness Month alone, nearly 5000 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK.
“Yet the sooner breast cancer is diagnosed, the greater the chance of treatment being successful, and lives potentially being saved from breast cancer. This is why we want every woman to know how vital breast checking is and to feel empowered to regularly check their breasts, so that it’s easier to spot any new or unusual change and get them checked with a GP, along with attending breast screening appointments when invited.”
Offering advice, Manveet added: “We’re reminding women to get it back on their agenda – this could be as part of their self-care routine while getting dressed, showering or applying moisturiser. Checking your breasts only takes a few minutes and there’s no right way to check, as long as you do it regularly. It’s important to check your whole breast area, your armpits and up to your collarbone (upper chest) for changes.
“We say, it’s as simple as TLC: Touch, Look, Check.”
