Sarah Ferguson joins Loose Women to launch breast cancer campaign
The Don’t Skip Your Screening campaign will launch to highlight the importance of being screened.
Tomorrow's episode (Thursday 2nd November) of Loose Women marks a special debut for Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, as she joins the panel to launch an important breast cancer awareness campaign.
Entitled 'Don’t Skip Your Screening', the campaign is backed by NHS England and will launch to underline the importance of being screened in the hopes of tackling the staggering amount of missed mammogram appointments in the UK.
Ferguson will join Loose Women regular panellists Christine Lampard, Coleen Nolan and Brenda Edwards to not only launch the campaign, but also to open up about her breast cancer diagnosis and resulting mastectomy.
Ferguson revealed the news of her diagnosis earlier this year, but this marks the first time she's opened up about it on TV.
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Ahead of the show, Ferguson said: “I almost missed the screening appointment that saved my life. I couldn’t face a journey into London on a hot day this summer and it was only my sister Jane’s insistence that I went that persuaded me.
“My cancer was completely symptom-free. I never found a lump and did not feel ill. My experience underlines the vital importance of getting screened when you’re called in. It’s a matter of grave concern that 1.2 million mammogram appointments have been missed, according to the latest figures, many of them during the pandemic."
She added: “I am proud to be supporting the campaign by Loose Women, backed by NHS England, to persuade women to catch up on missed appointments and to turn up when they are called in. Don't skip your screening - it could save your life as it did mine."
Having been a core part of the ITV schedule since its debut in 1999, Loose Women has a whopping 27 seasons under its belt and has seen over 50 panellists come and go with their own share of controversial or important statements.
The show has a weekly reach of 2.9 million, so it's safe to say that Ferguson's message will be one that will resonate with the Loose Women audience.
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Leading research and support charity, Breast Cancer Now, have welcomed the new campaign and said: “We’re extremely grateful to Loose Women for shining a bright spotlight on breast screening as part of their ‘Don’t Skip Your Screening’ campaign and highlighting the important issue of tackling the shortfall in women having breast screening caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Since COVID, almost a million fewer women have undergone routine screening (comparing 2018-19/19-20 to 2020/21-21/22) and as of August 2023, we estimate that around 6,000 women in England are living with undiagnosed breast cancer, largely because of disruption to routine screening.
“Breast screening is a vital tool in helping to detect breast cancer at the earliest possible stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful. We encourage all women to attend breast screening appointments when invited and to regularly check their breasts, reporting any unusual changes to their GP as soon as possible.”
Loose Women continues at 12.30pm every weekday.
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