Road signs used to spread breast cancer message

Signs normally used for road safety messages are being used to urge women to check for signs of breast cancer.

The scheme, which is collaboration between councillors and the NHS, follows awareness raising sessions in the Bradford district.

Data from the sessions allowed the signs to be placed in areas where the uptake rate for breast screenings was low, a Bradford Council spokesperson said.

Councillor Alison Coates said it was hoped the signs would remind tens of thousands of women of the importance of self-checking and in turn lead to earlier detections of cancer.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Coates and councillor Beverley Mullaney had been working with the NHS Pennine Breast Screening Unit at Bradford's St Lukes Hospital, to spread the message across the district during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

The collaborative working approach has already produced an uptake in mammogram attendance rates, a council spokesperson said.

Coates said: "We know that being breast aware and self-checking every month, and for the over 50’s attending mammogram screening when called, leads to earlier detection and more favourable outcomes if cancer is found."

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