Girlguiding has partnered with charity CoppaFeel! to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, creating a new activity to educate its members about the illness.
In a tweet shared by Girlguiding Greater London West County, which oversees Girlguiding units in the boroughs of Kingston, Sutton, Merton and Richmond, the charity said: “We’ve collaborated with @Girlguiding to create an activity, all about the importance of checking. This task will help the Rangers understand what’s normal for their bodies & empower them to get help if they need it.”
Millie Young, CoppaFeel!’s Head of Education and lead on the partnership with Girlguiding, said: “At CoppaFeel!, we want everyone to have the best possible chance of surviving breast cancer and work tirelessly to raise awareness amongst young people, instilling the knowledge and tools they need to get to know their bodies.
“Thanks to the new Girlguiding activity, Rangers will be educated about breast cancer, encouraged to check regularly and get to know their normal and empowered to seek advice when needed. All of which will go a long way to fulfilling our vision of living in a world where all breast cancers are diagnosed at the earliest stage possible, where treatments are more effective and survival rates higher.”
The activity aims to help Rangers (girl guides aged 14-18) to understand the importance of checking for possible signs of cancer. It involves exploring why this should be a regular self-care habit, and games such as eating biscuits with a knife and fork (in the opposite hands) to normalise noticing what is ‘unusual’ for their bodies.
Participants are then directed to CoppaFeel!’s Self-Checkout tool, which contains step by step instructions for checking their breasts.
According to charity Breast Cancer Now, around 55,000 women and 370 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK.
“Despite breast cancer being the most common cancer in females aged 25 to 49, a third of young people aren’t aware that they could be affected,” Young said.
CoppaFeel! was founded in 2009 by Kris and Maren Hallenga, after Kris was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer aged 23; she had previously been unaware that the disease could affect younger people.
The charity aims to inform all young people, regardless of gender or ethnicity, about the importance of checking their bodies for unusual changes.
