Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to develop awareness for the heartbreaking disease that claims so many lives.
In 2020, the World Health Organisation reported that there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 685 000 deaths globally. As of the end of 2020, there were 7.8 million women alive who were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 5 years, making it the world’s most prevalent cancer.
In the UK, breast cancer is the most common kind and there are nearly 1,000 deaths each month which equates to 31 each day or one every 45 minutes. Over a quarter of cases are preventable.
These facts are shocking and it’s devastating to know that any one of us or our loved ones could one day be a part of those statistics. Even more agonizing is the fact that so many of us have already been affected by this prevalent killer.
In September, we received the shocking news that Girls Aloud singer, model and actress Sarah Harding passed away aged only 39 to Breast Cancer. This impacted thousands, if not millions, of people from across the world. Family, friends, fans, colleagues and strangers gathered on social media to share photos of beautiful Sarah and share kind words, with many imploring women to check themselves (and others) more regularly.
It’s so important that we take every opportunity to raise awareness in the hope of saving lives. Thank you for sticking with us, we know that this was a tough read but it’s imperative that we keep having these conversations and encourage people to donate to charities like Cancer Research in the hope that one day, we can “prevent the preventable” - Breast Cancer UK.
References:
Breast Cancer Facts - National Breast Cancer Foundation
