A team of NHS staff from the Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI), Furness General Hospital (FGH) and Westmorland General Hospital (WGH) are set to abseil down the Ashton Memorial building in Williamson Park in Lancaster on 23 June 2019 to promote the importance of regular breast screening across North Lancashire and South Cumbria, while also raising funds for both breast screening services at University Hospitals Of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) and Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue.
The abseil will be assisted by Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue who will provide their services and equipment free of charge.
Carly Taylor, Breast Screening Navigator, North Lancashire & South Cumbria Breast Screening Programme, said:
“All proceeds raised from our charity abseil will be split equally between Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue and the North Lancashire and South Cumbria breast screening fund, which is administered by Bay Hospitals Charity, to help make our breast screening service the best it can possibly be– ensuring women invited receive the very best care and treatment. You will also be supporting the vital work that Bowland Pennine Mountain rescue do.
“This is about having fun but also, more importantly, we’re doing this to remind women across North Lancashire and South Cumbria of the importance of attending their breast screening appointments
“We are looking for 100 people from across Lancashire and Cumbria to sign up for this once-in-a-lifetime experience and are inviting staff from across our hospitals, their family members, friends and members of the public who may have used our breast screening service, or those who have been affected by breast cancer, to get in touch with us.
“To take part in the event, all we ask is participants pay a one-off fee of £25 for adults and £20 for children aged 8 and over, with the pledge to raise a minimum of £50 each.
Helen Smith, Consultant Radiographer at the RLI, added:
“About 1 in 8 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. If breast cancer is detected early, treatment is more successful and there’s a good chance of recovery.
“Breast screening aims to find breast cancers early. It uses an X-ray test called a mammogram that can spot cancers when they’re too small to see or feel.
“As the likelihood of getting breast cancer increases with age, all women aged 50 to 70 and registered with a GP are automatically invited for breast cancer screening every 3 years. Some women aged 47 – 49 and 71 – 73 will also receive an invite as part of the age extension trial. In the meantime, if you’re worried about breast cancer symptoms, such as a lump or area of thickened tissue in a breast, or you notice that your breasts look or feel different from what’s normal for you, don’t wait to be offered screening – go and see your GP as soon as possible”.
For more information on breast screening, please visit: www.nhs.uk/conditions/breast-cancer-screening