Topless runner to take part in topless swim

Louise Butcher, topless, is looking at the camera and smiling. She has a tattoo of roses on her right arm. She has her hair in a bun, sunglasses on her head and a silver necklace around her neck. Behind her is a road. There are houses in the background to the left and in the background to the right is a shop. There a trees with green leaves around. The sky is filled with grey clouds.
Image caption,

Louise Butcher will be taking part in Devon Hospitals Charity Topless Swim 2025

  • Published

A cancer survivor and campaigner will be taking part in a charity swim later.

Louise Butcher, who is known as the Topless Runner, will be among the swimmers at the Royal Devon Hospitals Charity Topless Swim 2025 which aims to raise funds and awareness of breast cancer.

She said last year's swim at Ilfracombe raised £50,000 with 250 ladies "all proudly showing their breasts" including some who had mastectomy scars.

Teams from North Devon District Hospital and Fern Centre cancer wellbeing team will be at the event to offer advice about breast cancer screening and early detection.

Mrs Butcher, who had a double mastectomy in 2022 after being diagnosed with lobular breast cancer, said she runs topless to promote body positivity and to raise money for Barnstaple's Fern Centre.

She said a big reason for why she ran topless with her mastectomy scars on display was to reduce the stigma and anxiety of receiving treatment.

Swimmers are due to arrive at 9:00 BST with a safety briefing at 10:00 and the swim at 10:30.

'Saved a life'

Mrs Butcher said raising awareness was important and she had received messages of support from other women.

"I get messages from women every day and they give me goosebumps," she said.

One lady actually said that she'd followed me and seen something I'd said on one of my posts and gone for a mastectomy because of it and then they'd found she had cancer.

"She's now on chemo and I literally saved a life in that sense."

Mrs Butcher said her advice for women would be to self-check as well as going for mammograms which did not pick up all cancers.

"Keep checking once a month and also look in the mirror," she said.

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