Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer Awareness month takes place every October, with organisations around the world campaigning and highlighting the importance of global breast cancer research and awareness.

In the UK, around 55,000 women each year are diagnosed with breast cancer, making it the most common cancer in the UK. Almost nine in 10 (87%) women survive breast cancer for five years or more, with one of the main reasons for this being early detection and faster diagnosis of the disease.

(Stats from Breast Cancer Now)

Here are a few ideas of things you can do to get involved in Breast Cancer Awareness month this October …

• Get involved in Bangor UBT events – More information on Bangor UBT in this article below!
• Get to know your boobs! – If you’ve never checked your chest before, then this October is the perfect time to start. It is recommended we check our boobs at least once a month, and if you’re not sure how to do it, Coppafeel! have got your covered here with their Boob Check 101. 
• Sign up for a reminder to check your boobs – After you’ve checked your boobs, sign up for a reminder from Coppafeel! so you don’t forget to regularly check your boobs.
• Talk about boobs! – Ask your friends and family whether they check their boobs regularly, and if they don’t, talk to them about how they can do it too.
• Wear it Pink – Wear pink on the 23^rd October at home, your workplace or at university to fundraise for Breast Cancer Now, a UK cancer charity.
• Host a Macmillan Coffee morning – Whether you host it online, or physically within your flat or household, why not host a coffee morning that will raise money for charity and also start a conversation about cancer
• Challenge Yourself – Sign up to a physical event or challenge to fundraise money for cancer charities in the UK.
• Take part in a virtual challenge – to reach personal goals and raise money for research into breast cancer

To find out more about the Uni Boob Team (UBT) in Bangor, I chatted to Abbie Whitehouse, a Bangor University Philosophy and Religion Student, and Chair of UBT.

What is UBT and what do you do?

UBT’s main purpose is to help promote chest awareness in young people, and to encourage people to remember to check their breasts.

One way in which we do this is through organising fundraising events for the charity CoppaFeel! Who are a breast cancer awareness charity that encourages people to become comfortable with checking their chests and knowing what feels right to them. This charity was co-founded by sisters Kris and Maren in 2009. At 23 Kris was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer. As there was so little information surrounding breast cancer in young people at that time, Kris founded CoppaFeel!

At CoppaFeel! they want to encourage breast awareness in all young people to ensure that people know the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. They also want to empower young people to feel comfortable seeking advice from a GP if these symptoms persist. Early detection of breast cancer is vital and so becoming comfortable with your chests as early as possible is essential. This is why UBTs are formed.

CoppaFeel! also offers free text reminders which arrive once a month and remind you to check your chests. To sign up to our free text reminders text ‘UBT BANG’ to 70500. These are fun reminders which ensure that you check your chests roughly at the same time every month.

How can new and existing Bangor University students get involved with UBT?

To get involved in the events the UBT will be hosting make sure to check out our Instagram and Facebook for all information on upcoming events. For the time being all events will be online to ensure that we are as safe as possible in the current situation and therefore all events will be happening over Zoom. All Zoom information can be found on Instagram and Facebook. We have everything from quizzes to Netflix parties and bingo running this semester so please get involved in anything and everything we have to offer.

The Uni Boob Team is also currently advertising the following positions:  UBT Fundraiser and UBT Social Media Rep. For more information on these roles please connect the UBT through Facebook or Instagram. The nomination deadline is the 25th October.