When Love Island star, Olivia Buckland, found a lump in her breast a few years ago, the experience inspired her to encourage people to have conversations about their own breast health, and most importantly to regularly check them!
Olivia Buckland is promoting self check examinations
Thankfully, when Olivia went to have the lump checked out, it was nothing dangerous.
She said: “It turned out to be a lipoma, a build-up of tissue, which I had for a good four years before finally plucking up the courage to have it removed. It was the best decision ever, in fact, I wish I had done it sooner.”
"Naturally, I want to help encourage conversations around breast checking as much as possible, so that more people are educated on why and how to check and what additional support is out there.”
Superdrug have recently introduced a new service, partnering with CoppaFeel!, to raise awareness about breast cancer and the importance of self examinations. They will now be offering a ‘no touch consultation’ on how to carry out a breast examination in all 56 nurse clinics across the UK, with the aim to educate patients on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer by having 100,000 breast checking consultations in the first year.
It comes after research revealed that 82% of women and 63% of men feel uncomfortable discussing changes in their breasts.
The reality TV star recently became the ambassador for the campaign.
She said: “The aim of Superdrug partnering with CoppaFeel! is to educate patients on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Everyone who is booked in to see a Superdrug nurse is presented with the opportunity to chat through breast checking.
"The partnership involves Superdrug training all of its instore nurses to initiate the breast checking awareness conversation and talk patients through how to carry out a self checking examination.”
Being the ambassador for the campaign means Olivia can use her platform encourage women to become familiar with their own bodies - proof she's a fantastic role model for women.
“For me it’s a topic close to my heart and I am so passionate about starting the boob checking conversation again. I’m an ambassador for CoppaFeel! and am excited to be encouraging more conversations about breast checking and having a trained Superdrug nurse talking you through the process is a brilliant thing.
"Getting to know your breasts and checking regularly in order to get to know what normal feels like for you is a great place to start.”
It’s been a learning experience for Olivia, as well. She says that throughout this whole journey, she’s realised the importance of checking her overall health.
“I’ve learned how important it is to look after your own health and get to know your body. I visit my GP as recommended for check and smears etc. and I can’t stress enough how important it is for girls to keep up to date on all their checks - you never know when it may save your life.”
And if you’re worried about checking your breasts, or if you’ve found something unusual, it’s always best to consult your GP.
“I recommend that if anyone has found an abnormality, including a lump in their breast, that they consult their GP as soon as possible, it can often be nothing to worry about but it’s best to get checked. If you want to know what to expect when you visit your GP, you can check out CoppaFeel!’s information page via this link which has all the info you need.”
Tagged in Breast Cancer Love Island Health