Cornmarket Group Financial Services Ltd has today announced its sponsorship of Breast Cancer Ireland’s Breast Health Education and Awareness programme for both teachers and transition year students nationwide. The aim of the programme is to encourage and educate women about good breast health from a young age so that if an abnormality occurs it will be identified early and the treatment outcome will be more positive.
The programme involves Breast Cancer Ireland’s nurses presenting to schools throughout the country, in a way that is designed to be friendly, informative and non-intrusive for both teachers and transition year students alike. Using a medically induced mannequin that shows the eight symptoms of breast cancer, the nurses educate young female students and teachers on how to perform a self-breast examination; recognising the symptoms and encouraging them to download Breast Cancer Ireland’s free Breast Aware App.
Over the course of the coming ‘Back to School’ weeks, an awareness campaign will be rolled out to encourage teachers and principals to book in free demonstrations for their transition year students and colleagues.
Commenting on Cornmarket’s sponsorship of the Programme, Lisa Kelly, the company’s Head of Marketing said: “Cornmarket is delighted to announce our sponsorship of Breast Cancer Ireland’s Breast Health Education and Awareness programme. The programme is all about building awareness at a young age in order to help with early detection and intervention to ultimately save lives.
“As Ireland’s largest health insurance broker, Cornmarket recognises breast cancer as one of the main illnesses that could affect our customers. Together with our strong connection with the education sector, the development and support of this important breast health and awareness programme is a natural fit for Cornmarket and one that we are truly energised to get behind and make a success.”
30% of breast cancer cases diagnosed each year affect women aged between 20 and 50. Together, Breast Cancer Ireland and Cornmarket want this figure reduced considerably and see this latest education programme as playing a critical part in achieving this goal. Speaking at the launch of Cornmarket’s sponsorship, Aisling Hurley, CEO at Breast Cancer Ireland, said: “Having Cornmarket on board for this important programme cannot be underestimated. The earlier a diagnosis is made, the better the treatment outcome. Thanks to the financial support that comes with Cornmarket’s sponsorship we will be able to extend our reach throughout Ireland, raising awareness and ultimately saving lives.”
Also attending the Cornmarket sponsorship announcement with Breast Cancer Ireland was 31 year old Emma Cassidy, a secondary school teacher and a recent breast cancer survivor. Commenting on the significance of the programme, Emma said: “I was so shocked to learn of my diagnosis as I thought breast cancer was an older woman’s disease. Never did I think it could happen to me but I am adamant not to let it define me and determined to ensure that my fellow female colleagues in education become more breast aware and understand good breast health.”
To learn more about the Breast Health Education & Awareness programme or to register for a visit, schools are encouraged to visit the Education Awareness section on Breast Cancer Ireland.com.
About Breast Cancer Ireland
Breast Cancer Ireland, is a registered charity established to raise funds in support of pioneering breast cancer research programmes and the provision of education and awareness initiatives across Ireland. Under the chairmanship of Professor Arnold Hill, Leading Breast Surgeon and Head, School of Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, our aim, through research, is to translate breast cancer from often being a fatal disease, with over 680 deaths annually, to a treatable illness, that can be maintained long term. Each presentation of breast cancer is very personal to the individual and through sophisticated analysis, doctors can now provide every patient diagnosed with their own tailored, personalised treatment plan for a more effective outcome.
Funds raised currently support the ongoing research efforts in the laboratories but also a national collaborative initiative involving the eight designated cancer centres throughout Ireland. Breast Cancer Ireland has funded the recruitment of specialist Breast Cancer Research Nurses, whose role is to collect and collate patient tissue and serum samples into one large centralised resource, which can now be accessed by clinicians and scientists nationwide, thereby helping to speed up discovery times and ultimately affect more positive treatment outcomes for patients.
In the past, each centre may see on average 9000 women annually; 300 of whom present with breast cancer and hence research efforts were taking on average 2-3 years. Today, with this increased volume of samples available, research centres are making good progress towards speeding up discovery times to within 6-9 months.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the developing world. 1 in 9 women will develop breast cancer throughout their lifetime- with approximately 2890 new cases diagnosed each year.