55,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year across the UK. In light of Breast Cancer awareness month, The Nottingham Breast Institute are running an event next week to dispel myths about the illness and its origins...
Each year 35,000 patients visit Nottingham’s Breast Institute, and 850 are diagnosed with cancer. As October marks breast cancer awareness month, The Breast Institute have got together with Nottingham’s Breast Cancer Support Group to raise awareness. Together, they will be running an event on October 17, taking place from 1pm until 5pm.
“We started running this event five years ago” says Elisabetta Giannotti, consultant radiologist at the Breast Institute. “We decided to open up the breast unit to show people how we work and to raise money for the charity.”
This year, due to COVID, the event can’t take place in the Breast Institute itself, but instead will be held at the Park Tennis Club where there will be numerous stalls, including Indian street food, a vintage clothes stall and an arts and craft stall ran by the support group. In the past, money from this event has gone towards improving patient experience, alongside improving patient outcomes by providing money for a state-of-the-art mammogram machine and vital research.
A lot of people think breast cancer only affects people that are menopausal, but that’s not always true. It’s very important for all people to stay breast aware and to report any changes to your GP
As well as raising money, the Breast Institute are also eager to share valuable information surrounding breast cancer. “We wanted to get out lots of information, particularly around misconceptions” Elisabetta says, “A lot of people think breast cancer only affects people that are menopausal, but that’s not always true. It’s very important for all people to stay breast aware and to report any changes to your GP. People also think that they will be fine if they do everything right, that if they have a good diet and exercise then they can’t be affected, but that’s not true. Obviously, it’s all about risk but even if you do all these things, it can still happen. A lot of people are also scared about the radiation of the mammogram, but the radiation is the same radiation you’d get if you fly from London to New York, it’s not dangerous at all.”
The event will be free to attend and will have parking available for those driving. For those unable to attend, there are also online resources to access, including Coppa Feel and Breast Cancer Now.
The Breast Cancer Awareness event will be held on October 17 from 1pm at the Park Tennis Club
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