October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, globally. If detected early, treatment is more successful and there’s a good chance of recovery. Breast cancer screening can prevent an estimated 23%-37% cases of breast cancer. However, In London only 63.3% of women attended their breast screening in 2017/2018. The likelihood of getting breast cancer increases with age: between 2015-2017, 17% of breast cancers were in women under 50 and 24% in women over 75.

All women aged from 50 to 70 are automatically invited for breast cancer screening every 3 years. If you are older than 70, you’ll stop receiving automatic screening invitations, but you can still ask to have breast screening. If you have missed or not received an appointment, contact your local breast screening clinic to rebook: https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Breast-screening-services/LocationSearch/325

‘Know your breasts – quick guide’ is available to download in various languages https://breastcancernow.org/information-support/publications/download-order?field_category_tid_2%5B0%5D=159