Did you know that a Westminster Hall debate on breast screening is taking place on Monday, 29th June? Read on for how you can help!
We’re urging MPs from all parties to attend and support the discussion around extending the NHS breast screening programme to help improve the early detection of breast cancer.
The debate has been triggered, following a petition launched by chemotherapy nurse Gemma Reeves. With more than 100,000 signatures, it has secured Parliamentary time to consider whether routine breast screening should begin at age 40 and take place annually.
Petition organiser, chemotherapy nurse Gemma Reeves (left)
Walk the Walk has spent almost three decades campaigning to improve outcomes for people affected by breast and other cancers through research, prevention, education, awareness and support. We totally support Gemma and believe the debate on Monday 29th June presents an important opportunity to look at whether current breast screening programmes are meeting the needs of today’s population.
Breast cancer remains the most common cancer in the UK, affecting both women and men. While the NHS Breast Screening Programme currently invites women aged 50 to 70 for routine mammograms every three years, thousands of cases are still diagnosed outside this age range each year.
Campaigning for change
We’ve made the expansion of breast screening one of our key campaigning priorities. Earlier this year, on World Cancer Day, we hosted a Parliamentary drop-in event highlighting three areas where action could help improve cancer outcomes:
- Extending access to routine breast screening and mammograms
- Updating cancer prevention education in schools
- Accelerating the promotion of walking for cancer prevention, treatment and recovery
We want to encourage MPs to attend the Westminster Hall debate and take part in discussions around how breast screening programmes can continue to evolve alongside advances in cancer detection, treatment and prevention. This is where you come in!
If you’d like to support this campaign, you can take part by contacting your local MP and encouraging them to attend the breast screening debate on Monday 29th June and to support earlier access to breast screening.
To make it easy, we’ve created a ready-to-use email template which you can copy, personalise and send in just a few minutes. You can use this alongside the WriteToThem service to quickly and directly reach your MP.