Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 48-year-old Lancashire woman poses topless to raise awareness of Tickled Pink campaign

Stripping off to raise awareness of breast cancer as part of a joint initiative between Asda, Breast Cancer Now, and CoppaFeel!, 48-year-old Esther joined Asda’s Tickled Pink as one of the retailer’s ‘Real Self-Checkers’, sharing her breast cancer experience to encourage people to make checking their boobs, pecs, and chests as normal as the weekly shop.

“It was a difficult and confusing time,” says Esther of her original diagnosis, which was followed by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, a lumpectomy, and eventually a mastectomy in 2014. “There were lots of options, so it can be hard to know what’s right for you. I contacted Breast Cancer Now and used their forum to get advice on whether to have a reconstruction.

“After much deliberation and conversations with supportive ladies who’d been in similar situations, I decided not to go ahead with reconstruction [and] I’m happy with the decision,” she adds. “Eight years later, I received my secondary breast cancer diagnosis - [ which is] when cancer spreads from a primary site to a secondary site. It’s treatable but incurable.

“Speaking to other people like me helped me come to terms with my diagnosis, which is why I wanted to share my story too,” continues Esther. “I decided to share online pictures of myself and my mastectomy scar to raise awareness and encourage everyone to check themselves.

“I hope that, by being open and sharing these images, we can make cancer a topic that people aren’t afraid to talk about.”

Given that breast cancer can impact anyone regardless of age, ethnicity, or gender, Asda’s Tickled Pink campaign is raising funds for treatment, education, and life-changing support and has over the past 26 years, raised over £77m for the cause, emerging as the UK’s longest-running corporate charity partnership.

“It’s so important to be breast-aware and get to know ‘your normal’ and understand what’s new or different,” says Manveet Basra, Head of Public Health and Wellbeing at Breast Cancer Now. “While most breast changes, including breast lumps, are not cancer, it’s important to get any new or unusual changes checked by your GP.

“On the occasions it is breast cancer, the sooner it is diagnosed, the better the chances of treatment being successful,” Manveet adds. “Checking only takes a few minutes while getting dressed, showering, or putting on moisturiser - check your whole breast area, armpits, and up to your collarbone for changes.

“There’s no special technique; it’s as simple as TLC: Touch, Look, Check. Breast screening is also vital in detecting breast cancer early. This is why we encourage women to attend breast screening appointments when invited and to keep checking their breasts in between mammograms.”

Esther agrees. “I want to encourage everyone to check their breasts regularly so you know your normal and can spot anything unusual,” she says. “It might be a change like dimpling of skin, discharge from your nipple, lumps, or bumps, but just being breast aware helps you to spot anything you haven’t seen before.”