Breast Cancer Awareness Month

4th October 2017

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this year, Breast Cancer Care is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the pink ribbon, a powerful symbol for millions of people affected by the disease.

All funds raised throughout October will help Breast Cancer Care continue to provide vital free services.

Most Common Cancer in the UK

Did you know that breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK? The three main risk factors of breast cancer are:

Being a woman – over 99% of new cases of breast cancer are in women
Getting older – more than 80% of breast cancers occur in women over the age of 50. Most men who get breast cancer are over 60
Significant family history – around 5% of people diagnosed with breast cancer have inherited a faulty BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Signs and Symptoms

Knowing the signs and symptoms of breast cancer can lead to diagnosing the cancer sooner. This can be crucial in providing more effective treatment and, ultimately, saving lives. But a Breast Cancer Care survey found a third (33%) of women aren’t regularly checking and a fifth (20%) say it’s because they don’t know how to check their breasts.

Breast cancer doesn’t always mean a lump. Other less well-known symptoms include a nipple becoming inverted or a change in texture of the skin.

Download this infographic for more information.

Breast Cancer Diagnosis

One person is diagnosed every 10 minutes
1 in 8 women in the UK will develop breast cancer in their lifetime
This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, around 5,000 people will be diagnosed

Breast Cancer Survivorship

Breast cancer survival is improving and has doubled in the last forty years in the UK.

Almost 9 in 10 women survive breast cancer for five years or more
Every year, around 11,400 people die from breast cancer in the UK
An estimated 691,000 are alive in the UK after a diagnosis of breast cancer.
This is predicted to rise to 840,000 in 2020. For many, however, the overwhelming emotional and physical effects of the disease can be long-lasting

Dorothy Perkins

Various partners have designed unique and limited-edition products, all to support people affected by breast cancer, this includes Dorothy Perkins.

The ten-year partnership with Breast Cancer Care and Dorothy Perkins unites staff and customers and encourages everyone to get behind a cause they both feel passionate about.

Dorothy Perkins has raised an amazing £3million for Breast Cancer Care over time. This money has been raised through celebrity clothing and accessory ranges, customers donating at till-points, and energetic in-store fundraising.

Current products available from Dorothy Perkins in Garden Square include t-shirts and a tote bag. 10% of each sale goes to Breast Cancer Care.