ACTRESS EMMA BARTON TO LAUNCH NEW BREASTHEALTH UK CLINICS
Chicago star keen to help Birmingham’s women understand their risks
At 10:30am on 5 June 2009, actress Emma Barton (Eastenders) will officially launch BreastHealth UK’s new Birmingham clinics, at a champagne breakfast to be held at the Spire Little Aston Hospital.
“I recently lost a friend who’d suffered twice with breast cancer,” says Emma Barton. “When you lose someone like that, it really makes you aware of the importance of looking after yourself and being alert to any changes in your body.”
Emma will star as Roxie in Chicago at the Birmingham Hippodrome from 1-13 June. She will officially launch the new BreastHealth UK clinics at a breakfast at the Spire Little Aston Hospital in Sutton Coldfield on 5 June. The Little Aston clinic is a sister facility to BreastHealth UK’s clinic at the Spire Parkway Hospital in Solihull. The two sites will together ensure that women across the Midlands have access to convenient, well-equipped and expertly-staffed facilities for breast care.
The clinics offer women a greater range of screening services than is currently available on the NHS – for example rapid genetic testing for women with a family history of cancer and digital infrared imaging for younger women.
Emma is painfully aware that breast cancer can strike at any age. “I lost a college friend a few years ago, who was only 27,” she says. “It was so unexpected.”
Now in her early 30s, Emma is keen that younger women are aware of how to check their own breasts and of the screening technology that is now available.
BreastHealth UK (BHUK) offers a comprehensive range of screening and diagnostic techniques, including state-of-the-art technologies that are particularly beneficial for younger women. For instance, a personalised risk assessment test is available, which uses the latest genetic understanding coupled with lifestyle, medical and family history factors to provide women with a personalised risk score for the disease, empowering them to make informed choices about appropriate levels of screening.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 35. The Breast Health Risk Assessment test can accurately gauge a young woman’s personal risk, enabling an individual breast screening programme to be tailored for her.
Mr Ian Paterson consultant breast surgeon at Spire Little Aston hospital, commented:
“Mamography is traditionally used as part of the routine screening programme which is designed for women over 46, however it is less effective for younger women who have denser breast tissue. BHUK offers us other approaches such as the Digital Infrared Breastscan which is non-invasive and doesn’t use radiation, and we are finding this beneficial for younger women who can access our screening without a GP referral.
“Only 30 percent of cancers are due to genetic causes, so there is much that a woman can do to reduce her own risk, and this can be reassuring for someone who has lost a close friend or family member to cancer. A risk assessment takes into account lifestyle factors and can empower women to take a more preventative approach.”
“It’s great that women will have access to these services, whatever their age,” said Emma.