A bus raising awareness of the importance of breast cancer screening is set to visit Salford on Friday.
The ‘BooBee Bus’ is visiting Pendleton Gateway at 10:00 as part of its campaign to tackle Greater Manchester’s significantly low breast cancer screening rates.
Greater Manchester has consistently fallen below the national average for screening uptake, with only 53.2% of Mancunians getting their breasts checked in 2021, compared to the national average of 64.2%.
Over 420 women from the Greater Manchester region are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.
A campaign from breast cancer awareness charity, Prevent Breast Cancer, the BooBee Bus will also visit Newton Heath and Cheetham Hill over the weekend to finish its week-long Greater Manchester tour.
The bus educates women on what’s happens at screenings, who should attend, and promotes self-examination for women of all ages.
100 ambassadors who have been affected by breast cancer will travel with the van to share their experiences and encourage more people to get checked.
The van also works to encourage women from the region’s most deprived areas to get checked as research has found that there is a strong link between deprivation and increased incidence of cancer.
Lester Barr, founder of Prevent Breast Cancer, said: “We are dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of attending breast screenings across Greater Manchester.
“There are a multitude of reasons that women don’t attend their screening invitation, and we’re committed to addressing the issue by learning more and communicating effectively with women of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds.”
Alongside screening, which is available every three years to all women in the UK between the ages of 50 and 70, Prevent Breast Cancer encourages all women to regularly check their breasts.
It can be done by examining monthly in the shower, lying down on the bed, whilst getting dressed or even blow drying hair.
Manchester Airport operator MAG is the headline sponsor of the BooBee campaign, supporting the fit out of the BooBee bus for its journey around the city, and promoting the project to the many thousands of people working at and travelling through the airport.
Tina Edwards, People Director at Manchester Airport, said: “We are proud to be supporting this crucial campaign, highlighting an issue that we know is close to the hearts of many of our colleagues and customers. Breast screening is vitally important and we want to encourage people across the region to get themselves checked.”
For more information about the campaign and where the bus is visiting, visit Prevent Breast Cancer’s website.
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