October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month at QEHB
This October, QEHB Charity is working with University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Birmingham to raise awareness of breast cancer.
The tallest free-standing clock tower in the world, the University’s Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower (affectionately known as ‘Old Joe’), will turn a shade of pink throughout the first week of the month. UHB, which includes Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, is taking the opportunity to urge women to say ‘yes’ to breast screening. The Trust runs the South Birmingham Breast Screening Service, which invites over 15,000 women for a mammogram every year, and is supported by QEHB Charity.
QEHB Charity works with Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer (LFBC), the UK’s only regional breast cancer charity, to support Birmingham’s breast cancer patients receiving treatment through UHB.
Every three years, ladies who are eligible for breast screening receive an invitation letter through the post detailing an appointment date and time. Appointments can take place at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, where the service is based, or on mobile units. A mobile mammogram trailer worth £250,000 was launched by QEHB Charity, LFBC and UHB in April 2016, enabling more local women than ever to attend breast screening appointments out in their community instead of requiring them to travel to the hospital.
Siobhan Lydon, Senior Radiographer, Health Promotion and Advanced Practitioner at UHB, said: “Breast screening aims to detect breast cancer at an earlier stage, often before women are aware of any abnormalities. Early detection may mean simpler and more successful treatment.”
Siobhan continued: “If you receive an invitation letter, please come along to your appointment. We are trying to get the message out that the NHS Breast Screening Programme currently saves an estimated 1,300 lives each year in the UK.”
The Breast Screening team, joined by LFBC and QEHB Charity who will be collecting donations, will hold an information stand in the hospital atrium on 5, 6, 13 and 20 October. There will also be a raffle with fantastic prizes including a signed Birmingham City Football Club football, with proceeds going to benefit breast cancer research at QEHB.
