Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK
STAY HYDRATED
Staying hydrated throughout the day is really important for keeping your heart and circulatory system healthy. Dehydration makes the heart work harder and it can cause your blood pressure to drop. Being hydrated can also help with weight loss as thirst can quite often feel the same as hunger!
During hot weather, or physical activity, we lose water through sweating and this can lead to dehydration. Guidance says we should aim to drink between 6-8 cups of fluid every day.
Have a read of some of our tips below to help you stay hydrated.
How do I know if I am dehydrated?
When you become dehydrated, you may notice symptoms such as headaches, tiredness, irritability or difficulty concentrating. The easiest way to tell if you are dehydrated is the colour of your urine. If your urine is pale and clear then you’re hydrated. However, if your urine becomes more yellow, brown or dark in colour with a strong smell, this suggests you aren’t drinking enough.
I’m struggling to keep hydrated – what can I do?
Regular drinks of water throughout the day is the best way to keep hydrated. Water is always best, but if you don’t like water, or want to mix things up, fluids such as herbal teas and sugar-free squash are also good. You should avoid having too many drinks with added sugar and caffeine in them, such as sweet tea and coffee, energy drinks or sugary pop.
Keeping hydrated out and about
If you’re going out for the day, make sure you take a drink with you. You can also get water from foods. Fruit and vegetables tend to have a high water content, especially cucumber, watermelon, tomatoes, oranges and apples.
Try snacking on these foods rather than foods with a high fat and salt content, such as crisps or salted nuts, as these can make you feel thirsty.
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh has said that in order to maintain patient safety in the NHS, Scotland’s healthcare workers must be protected.
The College is calling for the Scottish Government to set up a task force, to assess the short, medium and long term health and wellbeing impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers.
The remit of the task force should include investigating whether adequate resources – especially time, staff and equipment – are available to maintain service activity, whether related to COVID-19 or not, taking into account the significant clinical demands of infection control, increased patient demand and different working practices during the pandemic.
The impact of the pandemic on The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act – which was passed in 2019 to ensure staffing levels that provide safe, high quality health and care services – must also be examined.
The College’s call comes on World Patient Safety Day (17 September), which has a slogan this year of “safe health workers, safe patients”. The campaign seeks to highlight and recognise health workers’ efforts to provide safe healthcare every day for their patients in the UK and around the world.
In October 2019, before the pandemic, 69% of the 8,656 doctors who responded to the UK annual physicians’ census that said that working conditions had affected their morale. Morale at work is a vital part of anybody’s wellbeing.
The College is also using World Patient Safety day to highlight the importance of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), which are actions, apart from getting vaccinated and taking medicine, that people and communities can take to help slow the spread of coronavirus. This includes ensuring that everyone keeps their hands clean, and using a tissue or one’s elbow to catch coughs and sneezes.
Professor Angela Thomas, Acting President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said:“The COVID-19 pandemic has been, and continues to be, a challenging period for healthcare workers.
“They have each played their vital part in helping the NHS manage the pandemic, sometimes at the expense of their own personal wellbeing and professional development.
“The College has helped support healthcare workers through our COVID-19 hub and webinars, which provide free access to online wellbeing and support, advice, guidelines, research and updates.
“But at this juncture, our thoughts must turn to how we can support the profession to continue the fight against COVID-19, while protecting their time to train, time to research and time to develop their knowledge and skills.
“There must be recognition from government that the people who care for the nation’s health – our healthcare workers – must themselves be cared for, in terms of their physical and emotional wellbeing.
“We’re also using World Patient Safety day to highlight the importance of personal and respiratory hygiene as measures to help stop the spread of coronavirus. This is vital particularly given the recent rise in COVID-19 infections over recent weeks.”
Marie Curie and the University of Glasgow are calling for action to improve the care and experience of dying people in hospitals.
Following a series of seminars with leading experts undertaken before the coronavirus pandemic, the organisations found that despite examples of good care, many hospitals are still not identifying enough patients who could benefit from palliative care, and who are unfairly missing out on the right care at the end of life. With hospital services under pressure due to coronavirus this situation is likely to have worsened over the last six months.
With the Scottish Government’s Strategic Framework for Action running to 2021, Marie Curie and the University of Glasgow have offered 12 themed recommendations for consideration by the next Scottish Government, NHS Boards and Integration Authorities.
Maria McGill former CHAS Chief Executive supports the recommendations as her father was cared for in hospital prior to dying at home from heart failure and did not receive any palliative care.
She shares: “Dad was admitted to hospital through the emergency department via 999 ambulance twice in 10 months. There were missed opportunities. Had conversations been started with him, and importantly including mum and me, instead of the rush to discharge him two weeks later, the second admission might have been avoided and they would have both been in a better position to understand what was happening to dad.
“Early discharge planning and engagement with community services is key, but those conversations should involve the family. Our experience was that dad was told he was being discharged and we weren’t involved in the discussion.
“Staff in all settings having the ability to listen, really listen, and I really do understand that for some staff this might cause them anxiety about what they might hear, that they might not know what to do, or have the time to do anything. However, it is so important this opportunity isn’t missed. Even during that second admission 8 weeks before dad died – there wasn’t a recognition of dad’s deterioration.”
Marie Curie and the University of Glasgow are also calling for the Scottish Government to set aside £15 million for a nationwide Change and Innovation Fund to test new models of integrated care involving acute settings. This could help ensure patients get better care, but also improve efficiencies in care across community and hospital settings.
Marie Curie Head of Policy and Public Affairs Scotland Richard Meade said: “Hospitals are absolutely the right place for some dying people to be, but we need definitive action to ensure people get the care they need when in a hospital. More and more people are likely to present with multi-morbidity and complex needs and by 2040 it is expected that up to 31,000 people could be dying in a Scottish hospital.
“While it’s clear that there are some excellent examples of care across Scottish hospitals, we found a worrying level of inconsistency and gaps in care. It’s particularly concerning that knowledge of palliative care among healthcare professionals was patchy with some not understanding that it can be provided alongside curative treatments.”
Professor David Clark and Welcome Trust investigator at the University of Glasgow said: “Over the last ten years our research has consistently shown that on any given day almost one third of patients in Scottish hospitals are in the last year of life and 10 percent will die on their current admission.
“We are not grasping the opportunity to identify these people and to have conversations about their end of life preferences. Covid-19 has revealed the shocking absence of advance care plans in many cases, making it even more difficult to give the right kind of care in pandemic conditions”.
The 12 recommendations from Marie Curie and the University of Glasgow are:
Scottish policy must actively support palliative care in acute settings and appoint clinical and executive leads in each NHS Board for palliative and end of life care.
Hospitals are supported to provide consistently high-quality care that improves patient outcomes and experience.
Everyone with a palliative care need should be identified if admitted to hospital or attending an outpatient appointment.
Hospitals should ensure they have joined-up working across multi-disciplinary teams and specialities to provide palliative and end of life care.
IT and technology must support patient centred care and enable those working with patients to have the most up-to-date information about that care and be able to provide appropriate input.
An increase in the number of palliative care consultants, doctors and specialist nurses.
Scotland should draw upon the power of volunteers to respond to the needs of communities and empower volunteers to support those with palliative needs and approaching the end of life in acute settings.
All acute staff should be given training to provide care and support for those living with a terminal condition, coming to the end of life and dying in hospitals, as well their families, friends and carers.
All hospital staff should have training and support in communication skills to support them in speaking with people with palliative care needs, and their families.
A review of the number of available specialist palliative care beds across Scotland is required.
Hospitals should also review the physical environment to ensure it is appropriate for dying people and their families.
There is a need for robust data and evidence on patient and carer experience, to allow greater scrutiny of care standards.
Following the reopening of six of its leisure venues on Monday (14 September), Edinburgh Leisure will be reopening its Edinburgh International Climbing Arena at Ratho next Monday, 21st September 2020.
A climbers’ paradise and Europe’s largest indoor climbing arena, booking goes live for climbing members at 9pm on Thursday, 17 September, and to non-members on Friday, 18 September. Members will be able to book climbing sessions eight days in advance, while for non-members, it’s seven days.
Customers wishing to book the gym facilities at EICA: Ratho, will be able to book three days in advance for members, and two days in advance for non-members – which is the same terms as at the other six Edinburgh Leisure venues, which recently opened.
Emma Ogilvie-Hall, Manager at EICA: Ratho said: “We know our climbers have missed the fantastic facilities at Ratho, and we’ve missed them and can’t wait to welcome them back.
“Like our other venues, things will be different but our climbers will still be guaranteed the warm Edinburgh Leisure welcome. Everyone is having to adapt to very different circumstances but the feedback from customers to the reopening of our six other venues has been very positive to the changes that we have put in place, which after all, are here for the health and safety of our staff and customers.”
The main changes that customers will see are:
Only climbing on the walls and bouldering in the main arena will be available, as will the gym. However, the bouldering room will remain closed.
Other services remaining closed for the time being include Clip ‘n Climb: the two cafés and Scrambles soft-play. Edinburgh Leisure will be following Government guidelines when considering the reopening these services.
No coaching will be available but an experienced climber can bring in two guests. These can be signed in and paid for on arrival but payment will be cashless.
Safety signage guidance will be on display throughout the venues.
Additional sanitisation stations have been installed throughout the venue for use before and after each visit.
Customers will need to book all climbing sessions in advance.
Sessions have been changed to reduce congestion in the building. Customers will be able to book in for either a morning or afternoon session.
The climbing sessions will run from 10:00 – 15:30 and 16:00 – 21:00 (Monday to Friday), and 9:00 – 12:30 and 13:00 to 17:00 (Saturday and Sunday)
Equipment can be hired online at the time of booking or in person on site but payment will be cashless.
Climbers will need to arrive ‘climb-ready’. Change facilities will not be available for use. There will also be reduced number of customer toilets.
An Edinburgh Leisure spokesperson explained: “We’re delighted to be re-opening EICA: Ratho and have been busy preparing for our customers return.
“As you can imagine, bringing Edinburgh Leisure’s diverse range of venues and services ‘back to life’ in a COVID-19 environment is a big and complex task. Our number one goal is to provide our customers with a clean, safe and enjoyable Edinburgh Leisure experience.”
Edinburgh Leisure, like every leisure trust in Scotland, is facing huge financial challenges. They continue to lobby the Government for financial support for the sector to ensure the sector survives and can continue to contribute to the country’s health and wellbeing.
June Peebles, CEO of Edinburgh Leisure said: “Edinburgh Leisure is committed to ‘building back better’ to a sustainable Edinburgh Leisure and to continue making a positive impact to the citizens of Edinburgh’s health and wellbeing – as we have done for the last 22 years.
“Never before has health and wellbeing been so important. And Edinburgh Leisure remain committed to supporting the people of Edinburgh to be active and enjoy good health.”
Edinburgh Leisure is a charity dedicated to creating opportunities for everyone to lead more active, healthy lives. They do this by running over 30+ sports and leisure facilities across the city and deliver their Active Communities programme, which helps improve the lives of people affected by health conditions, poverty, inequalities and disabilities.
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK
Watch your stress levels
We all experience stress from time to time. There are many things that can lead to us feeling stressed. It can come from the news, our jobs, financial insecurity, health issues and personal problems. Feeling constantly stressed and overwhelmed can lead to a rise in blood pressure and resting heart rate, both of which increase our risk of having a heart attack.
We have some tips to help you avoid unnecessary stress and deal with existing stress in a healthy way:
What is stress?
Stress is essentially when we feel threatened or under pressure and our bodies are preparing to either fight or run away from our current situation. This so-called ‘fight or flight’ response should only occur on rare occasions and it is useful for getting us out of dangerous situations. For many people stress can be more long term and persistent and this can have a negative impact on our mental and physical health.
Avoid consuming too much news
Whilst it may be important for us to stay up to date with current affairs, a constant stream of negative news reports can be a source of stress and anxiety. The World Health Organization recommends that we watch, read or listen to the news to just once or twice a day for short periods. Why not schedule a daily timeslot when you will allow yourself to check the news (e.g. 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm).
Walk your way to a healthy heart
Not only is regular physical activity good for our heart health, but it can also alleviate stress. It is recommended that adults get 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each week, such as brisk walking. When we feel stressed, we may tell ourselves we are too busy to exercise. However, physical activity does not have to be a time-consuming chore.
Incorporating small changes to increase our daily steps can improve our overall mental and physical health. You could start by making small changes, such as parking at the furthest point away from the shop entrance in the car park, getting off the bus a stop early, or leaving your office during your lunch break to take a walk.
Breathing and meditation
Just breathe. Despite the growing attention that meditation and breathing exercises is getting, it is still one of the most underrated things you can do to ease your stress levels and lower your blood pressure. To do this all you need is 10 minutes of your day to sit and do absolutely nothing but concentrate on your breathing.
Meditation is one of the simplest and cheapest ways of reducing your stress levels and blood pressure, and there are many free guided meditation resources online to teach you how to do it.
Ask for help
Sometimes stress can feel overwhelming and you may need a little help to manage it. Try speaking to a friend, family member or a work colleague about how you feel. If you think you would benefit from professional help, you can speak to your GP.
School staff will be offered new support as part of a £1.5 million funding package to help manage additional pressures as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barnardo’s Scotland and mental health charity Place2Be will offer new mental health support for staff with the intention this will be available after the October break.
Education Scotland and the General Teaching Council for Scotland will also offer new professional learning opportunities for post-probation teachers and develop a new coaching and mentoring offer for teachers who need it most.
The funding package also includes the continuation of the Scottish Government’s commitment, in partnership with the Hunter Foundation, to the values-based leadership programmes delivered by social enterprise and charity Columba 1400.
The package of support for school staff has been developed in partnership with organisations represented on the Education Recovery Group.
Education Secretary John Swinney said: “Supporting the health and wellbeing of teachers and other staff is of paramount importance.
“This was true before COVID-19, but it is of crucial importance as school staff support our children and young people to recover from the pandemic. This additional package of measures will complement the excellent practice which is already taking place to support the wellbeing of staff in schools across Scotland.”
Ken Muir, Chief Executive, of the General Teaching Council for Scotland, said: “GTC Scotland is pleased to deliver this important support to hard-working teachers in collaboration with our partners in education.
“GTC Scotland has invested heavily in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of education professionals and we look forward to continuing to do so.”
Gillian Hamilton, Strategic Director at Education Scotland, said: “Ensuring school staff feel well supported, particularly at this time, is essential.
“This new support package, designed collaboratively with partners in the Education Recovery Group, provides direct access to a range of focused supports including coaching, reflective supervision and opportunities for school staff to learn together through the challenges presented by COVID-19.”
Laurence Findlay, Aberdeenshire Council Director of Education and Children’s Services, said: “I am delighted with the support package being put forward as part of ongoing efforts to support the education workforce. I hope as many practitioners as possible make use of these resources.”
Edinburgh Leisure reopens six of its leisure venues
Edinburgh Leisure, the city’s largest sports and leisure operator, will be reopening its doors at six of its venues, today, Monday, 14 September 2020.
The venues reopening on 14 September are: Ainslie Park Leisure Centre (badminton, fitness, gym, swim), Craiglockhart Leisure and Tennis Centre (badminton, fitness, gym and indoor and outdoor tennis and squash), Drumbrae Leisure Centre (badminton, fitness, gym, swim), The Royal Commonwealth Pool (fitness, gym, swim) Leith Victoria (fitness, gym, swim), and Gracemount Leisure Centre (badminton, fitness, gym, swim).
They will initially be reopening their gyms, fitness classes, tennis, badminton and squash courts, and lane swimming in these centres. Bookings went live for members at 9pm on Thursday, 10 September and for non-members on Friday, 11 September.
Their six golf courses have been open since 4 June, and there has been a big upturn in demand for tee times. Their outdoor tennis courts have also been open since June and have been free to play.
Whilst First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon brought forward the date that indoor leisure venues could reopen to 31 August 2020, Edinburgh Leisure has always been working towards the original date that was indicated of 14 September.
An Edinburgh Leisure spokesperson explained: “We’re delighted to be re-opening the doors at six of our venues on 14 September and have been busy preparing for our customers return. We’ve missed them, as I know, many of them us.
“As you can imagine, bringing Edinburgh Leisure’s diverse range of venues and services ‘back to life’ in a COVID-19 environment is a big and complex task. We had over 900 staff on furlough, and it’s been necessary to check and refresh/update relevant compliance training before we could reopen, for example. Our number one goal is to provide our customers with a clean, safe and enjoyable Edinburgh Leisure experience.”
The Edinburgh Leisure experience will be different from before but customers will still receive the warm, Edinburgh Leisure welcome.
The main changes that customers will see are:
All activities must be pre booked via the Edinburgh Leisure app or website;
They will be operating in a cashless environment, accepting contactless payments;
Safety guidance will be on display throughout the venues;
Additional sanitisation stations have been installed throughout the venues for use before and after each visit;
All activities are timetabled with staggered session start times to reduce congestion;
Customers will be encouraged to wear face coverings in communal areas, but not for their activities.
Edinburgh Leisure has produced a series of videos and guidelines to virtually help customers through their first visit, and have a new ‘Ask Us’ section, which is available on their website, advising and supporting customers to make a booking and answering any questions they may have.
Edinburgh Leisure, like every leisure trust in Scotland, is facing huge financial challenges. They continue to lobby the Government for financial support for the sector to ensure the sector survives and can continue to contribute to the country’s health and wellbeing.
June Peebles, CEO of Edinburgh Leisure said: “Edinburgh Leisure is committed to ‘building back better’ to a sustainable Edinburgh Leisure and to continue making a positive impact to the citizens of Edinburgh’s health and wellbeing – as we have done for the last 22 years.
“Never before has health and wellbeing been so important. And Edinburgh Leisure remain committed to supporting the people of Edinburgh to be active and enjoy good health.”
Edinburgh Leisure is a charity dedicated to creating opportunities for everyone to lead more active, healthy lives. They do this by running over 30+ sports and leisure facilities across the city and deliver their Active Communities programme, which helps improve the lives of people affected by health conditions, poverty, inequalities and disabilities.
New National Garden Scheme report highlights the importance of gardens and outdoor spaces during lockdown
A new report from the National Garden Scheme emphasises the vital role that gardens and outdoor spaces played – and continue to play – in the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the nation during lockdown.
Bringing together feedback from garden owners, viewers of their unique Virtual Garden Visits that aired throughout lockdown, and an online survey conducted in August, the National Garden Scheme report confirms that the power of gardens to do good has never been more important.
George Plumptre, Chief Executive of the National Garden Scheme said, “Anecdotally, from the responses we received to our Virtual Garden Visits during lockdown, we knew that gardens (real and virtual) were playing a significant and important role in people’s lives.
“In August, to back this up, we ran an online survey entitled ‘The importance of our gardens and outdoor spaces during lockdown’. Over 2,400 people responded giving us a set of key statistics which confirmed much of the feedback we had already established; that access to gardens and green spaces can play a vital role in our ability to cope in times of crisis.
“The report lays out our findings, the statistics along with some of the long-form stories that survey respondents shared with us, and the feedback from a selection of our own National Garden Scheme garden owners.”
KEY FINDINGS:2,419 people responded to the online survey
92% said their gardens and outdoor spaces were ‘extremely important’ to them during lockdown in terms of health and wellbeing
87% said that a key benefit gained from access to their garden/outdoor space during lockdown was ‘It helped to relieve stress.’
100% of those with balconies or window boxes (35 respondents) said a key benefit was the reduction in stress – all of these respondents were within an urban or suburban environment
Of respondents with access only to a public outdoor space (20 respondents) 95% said that a key benefit was that ‘It helped to relieve stress’ (as opposed to 87% overall)
78% said that a key benefit gained from access to their garden/outdoor space during lockdown was ‘It helped them appreciate nature’
69% said that a key benefit gained from access to their garden/outdoor space during lockdown was ‘It kept them fit and contributed positively to their physical fitness’
86% said they used their gardens more during lockdown77% used their gardens for relaxation
81% spent their time growing and propagating seeds
70% grew their own produceEnjoying time to watch and encourage wildlife, connecting with neighbours ‘over the garden gate’, completing overdue garden projects and enjoying the sanctuary of their outdoor spaces were common themes in the long form responses.
My mother, Jean, died of sarcoma cancer nine years ago. Yet if she were alive today, she would still face the same excruciating wait for a diagnosis.
Delays to diagnoses are costing lives and devastating families across the UK. This has to change.
Shockingly, one in three (30%) sarcoma patients in the UK face an agonising wait of six-months or more for an accurate diagnosis of their cancer after first seeking medical help. One in six (17%) patients wait a year before being diagnosed.
This delay is unacceptable. Time is something those affected by sarcoma can ill afford. Sarcoma is one of the least understood but most aggressive forms of cancer and only 55% of patients survive more than five years. My mother fought the odds to survive for three years after being diagnosed and I count myself lucky to have had that time with her.
Put simply, late diagnosis costs lives, which is why I’m supporting the calls for change detailed in a new report launched by national bone and soft tissue cancer charity Sarcoma UK. Poor awareness, coupled with a complex diagnostic pathway, mean sarcomas often go misdiagnosed or are simply ignored and dismissed.
No one should ever find themselves in the position my mother and family did. People are needlessly losing their lives to this disease and will continue to do so if change doesn’t take place. The starting point for that begins here.
Delays Cost Lives: A call to policy makers to improve early diagnosis of sarcoma and more information about sarcoma, is available on the Sarcoma UK website.
Breast cancer charity Walk the Walk has brought together a global group of charities, collaborating to spread awareness that Men Get Breast Cancer Too. Together the charities’ goal is to reach millions of people across the world with the aim of saving lives.
Cancer charities from all over the UK have committed to supporting Walk the Walk’s campaign:- Maggie’s started in Scotland and supports people with cancer across the UK; Tenovus Cancer Care is a Welsh charity, focusing on support and research; FACT (Fighting All Cancers Together) helps people with cancer in the North East of England; Penny Brohn UK works across the country from its base in Bristol; Action Cancer provides early detection, support and prevention services in Northern Ireland; CoppaFeel creates awareness about breast cancer amongst young people across the UK; UK charity Breast Cancer Now funds research and care, providing support and hope; Breast Cancer Haven is a UK charity, offering emotional, physical and practical support to anyone affected by breast cancer.
They are joined by the Male Breast Cancer Coalition, an American awareness and campaigning charity.
In 2017, Walk the Walk recognised that there was very little awareness of male breast cancer and with the support of six men diagnosed with the disease, launched the Men Get Breast Cancer Too! campaign.
Over the last three years the campaign has gone from strength to strength, with the six men becoming nineteen. As the charities come together, the men’s voices will be heard even louder.
“It is an absolute privilege to work with these incredibly brave men, who have found the courage to speak out, with the hope that it will save lives. Their voice can be so much stronger if charities come together on this, and to see such a collaboration between charities is such a positive message in these challenging times.” – Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk
“We are delighted to be working with Walk and Walk and all other partner charities to raise awareness of breast cancer in men. Our centres are for anyone living with cancer and see the fullest possible range of cancer types, ages and situations, but sadly not a lot of men with breast cancer. I would love to see many more come through the doors of our centres and benefit from our professional practical, emotional and psychological support.” – Dame Laura Lee, Chief Executive of Maggie’s
“In our work supporting cancer patients in the North East, we have only known two men who have had breast cancer. Sadly, both of them found out about their cancer too late and are no longer with us. Awareness of breast cancer in men is crucial and that is why FACT is delighted to support this campaign” – Joanne Smith, Founder and Chief Executive of FACT (Fighting All Cancers Together)
“Men in Wales get breast cancer, too. It can be a particularly lonely illness. Tenovus Cancer Care are therefore delighted to be working with Walk the Walk and others across the UK – not least a wonderful and pioneering group of men – to get the word out to save men’s lives. We can provide support and advice in Wales, so if you or someone you know is affected by male breast cancer, do get in touch.” – Judi Rhys, Chief Executive, Tenovus Cancer Care
“Men get breast cancer too is such a crucial message. Giving men the confidence to speak up and find support is vital in the help to save more lives. We are thrilled to be partnering with Walk and Walk and all other partner charities to raise awareness of breast cancer in men. Penny Brohn UK is welcoming a growing number of men seeking emotional and practical support to help them live well with cancer.
“Anything we can do to encourage more men to check their chest and to seek help is invaluable” – Andrew Hufford, Commercial Director, Penny Brohn UK
“We are delighted to be partnering with Walk the Walk and the other cancer charities in this pan UK initiative to raise awareness of breast cancer in men. Action Cancer is passionate about breast cancer.
“We first introduced breast cancer screening for women in 1978, a lifesaving service that continues today, but one that is now supplemented by the provision of information, advice and an extensive range of therapeutic interventions for both women and men with the disease.
“We look forward, through this great collaborative initiative, to raising in Northern Ireland the awareness and profile of male breast cancer and to providing for men impacted by the disease the much needed psychological and physiological help required” – Gareth Kirk, CEO, Action Cancer
“Our mission is to ensure that all breast cancers are diagnosed early and correctly, which is why we are delighted to be a part of Walk the Walk’s campaign to ensure that men are not excluded from the conversation. Whatever your gender, getting to know your body is important so you’re in the best position to notice any changes at an early stage, and see your doctor about it.” – Natalie Kelly, Chief Executive, CoppaFeel
“It is vital that all men are aware of the signs and symptoms of the disease, and know what to do should they notice a change. At Breast Cancer Now, we fund research into male breast cancer as well as providing trusted information to those affected by the disease.
“We are delighted to support this campaign and the nineteen men affected by breast cancer who are sharing their stories and experience as part of it. Anyone who has questions or concerns about male breast cancer can contact us for support and information.” – Baroness Delyth Morgan, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer Now
“We are absolutely delighted to be joining Walk the Walk’s Men Get Breast Cancer Too! campaign. Raising awareness of breast cancer in men is vital and we are thrilled to be collaborating with the other partner charities to get this important message out there.
“Breast Cancer Haven provides vital support to anyone affected by breast cancer, and we want men affected by the disease to know that we are here for them too. We want to do all we can to ensure men with breast cancer get the help and support they need.” – Sally Hall, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer Haven
“It is wonderful to work with Walk the Walk and fantastic that charities in the UK are also collaborating to raise even more awareness of male breast cancer. Educating people across America and the world that breast cancer does not discriminate and that Men Have Breasts Too! is what we are all about!” – Cheri Ambrose, Founder of the Male Breast Cancer Coalition
