What is Breast Cancer Awareness Month?
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual campaign during October to raise awareness and show support for those that have been affected by breast cancer.
When is Breast Cancer Awareness Month?
Breast cancer awareness month takes place annually during October. It will begin on Sunday the 1st of October 2022, and end on Monday the 31st of October 2022. On the 21st of October Wear It Pink Day will take place. Wear it Pink is one of the biggest fundraising events in the UK, where thousands of people will wear pink clothing.
What is Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer is a disease where cancer cells form in the tissues of the breast. Cancer is a general term for a class of diseases whereby abnormal cells grow and take over the healthy cells in the body. Breast cancer starts in the breast cells, but can invade the surrounding tissues and spread to other areas of the body. If cancer cells travel to other parts of the body and begin damaging other tissues and organs, the process is called metastasis.
The breast is mainly made up of fat cells called adipose tissue. The tissue extends from the collarbone down to the underarm and across the middle of the ribcage. A heathy female breast is made up of 12-20 sections called lobes. The lobes are made up of smaller lobules, which produces milk. The lobes and lobules are connected to milk ducts. The milk ducts carry the milk to the nipple.
Facts about Breast Cancer:
- 1 in 7 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
- 65% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed before the cancer has spread outside of the breast.
- Men can get breast cancer, too. However, less than 1% of all breast cancer cases are in men.
- Only 1 in 1000 men will ever be diagnosed with breast cancer.
- Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women.
- On average, there are 56,000 new cases of breast cancer each year in the UK.
- 76% of people survive breast cancer for 10 or more years.
- In the UK, one woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every 10 minute
What are the signs and symptoms of breast cancer?
There are many different signs and symptoms of breast cancer, so checking your breasts regularly is important.
Common signs of breast cancer and symptoms include:
- A lump or swelling in the breast, upper chest, or the armpit.
- Changes in the size or shape of the breast.
- A change to the texture of skin, such as puckering or dimpling of the skin.
- Changes to the colour of the breast, such as appearing inflamed or red.
- A rash, crusting or changes to the nipple.
- Discharge or unusual liquid from nipples.
How to check your breasts?
There is no specific way to check your breasts, and no training is required. Here are some simple steps you can do to check your breasts:
- Touch your breasts – see if you can feel anything new or unusual.
- Look for changes – does anything look different, or unusual, such as swelling, colouring, changes to the size of the breast.
- Check any new changes with a GP. The GP may decide there is no need for further investigation, ask to see you again after a short period of time, or refer you to a breast clinic.
A breast clinic appointment may include a breast examination, and then either a mammogram, ultrasound scan, core biopsy, or a fine needle aspiration (FNA).
Fundraising Ideas to raise awareness:
Fundraising and raising awareness for breast cancer is easier, now more than ever! Here are some ideas to help inspire you:
- Bake sales – these are a great idea for any setting, you can do these at schools, work, or in your local community. Try to get lots of people involved in baking, so you have lots to sell.
- Bingo – Set up a fun game of bingo, this is a simple and effective way of making money.
- Raffles – Purchase a range of items and set up a raffle draw. You can charge for a line of tickets.
- Sweepstakes – These are easy to organise, set a date for the tournament to start, pick a sport to run the sweepstake on, this could be football, rugby, Formula 1, and so on. Get a sweepstakes sheet ready, create a JustGiving page, and assign everyone their team or player. You can do this with an online randomiser.
- Tombola – People can donate prizes, such as food, gifts, toys, and so on. Then you can hand out tickets for people to purchase.
- Best outfit competition – You can pick a theme for this, such as dressing up as a celebrity, or picking a winner for the best ‘wear it pink’ outfit. Each person could pay to be included in the competition, and you could even have a prize for the winner.
- Charity runs, bike rides, or walks – these are great to set up in the community. Pick a starting spot, and you can head out as a group to reach your destination. Set up a JustGiving page, so that people can donate.
- Wear It Pink Day – you can turn your ‘wear it pink day’ into an event, such as a pamper night, movie night, coffee morning/ brunch, and so on.
What are we doing at Refine Group to raise awareness of breast cancer?
In each of our orders you will find a card with information on breast cancer, and how to check your breasts. You can find more information on how to check your breasts and what to look out for on Cancer Research UK. We are also including a pink ribbon in each order.
At Refine Group, we will be celebrating Wear It Pink day in the office on Friday the 21st of October. All of the staff will be wearing pink clothing to raise awareness of breast cancer.
We will also be holding a Pink Sale! All our products which include pink packaging will be on sale for the month of October. These products include:
Minerva PDO Threads: Thread lifts are procedures that use dissolvable sutures to tighten and lift your skin. It’s less invasive than surgery and uses a biodegradable polyester suture. They are great for rejuvenating skin.
- PDO threads are divided into categories, these are:
- PDO mono threads, which rejuvenate the skin by stimulating collagen production.
- PDO cog threads, which have barbs that latch onto the skin to lift parts of the face.
- PDO screw threads, which are made up of intertwined threads that help to restore volume to sunken parts of the skin.
We have a vast range of Eloquence and Minerva PDO cog threads, mono threads, and screw threads, which will all be sold at a 50% reduction during October.
Jalupro HMW – an injectable solution, which eradicates skin depressions caused by ageing wrinkles and scars. Jalupro HMW will be sold at the reduced price of £32 for the month.
Juvéderm Ultra Smile – Juvéderm Ultra Smile is specifically for your lips to create natural, smooth, and beautiful results. It contains biocompatible hyaluronic acid that provides instant, yet natural results. Juvéderm Ultra Smile will be sold at the reduced price of £90 for the month.
Restylane Kysse – Restylane Kysse creates perfect shaped lips, which are full of volume, plumpness, and beautifully defined contour. Restylane Kysse contains non-animal based Butanediol Diglycidyl Ether (BDDE). Restylane Kysse will be sold at the reduced price of £77 during the month.
Stylage Bi Soft Lips – Stylage Bi Soft Lips will enhance the lips by creating a subtle fullness and correcting lip contours. Stylage Bi Soft Lips will correct disproportionate upper or lower lip size, reduce perioral lines or smoker’s lines above the upper lip and restore lip hydration. Stylage Bi Soft Lips will be sold at the reduced price of £55 for the entire month.
Teosyal RHA Kiss – Teosyal RHA Kiss is perfect for customers looking to achieve a natural-looking lip refreshment. Teosyal RHA Kiss is ideal for reducing perioral lines. Teosyal RHA Kiss will be sold at a reduced price of £100 during the month of October.
