Breast Cancer Ireland (BCI) has launched an education and awareness campaign marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month. October sees the launch of an integrated awareness campaign created by Pluto for the charity called #ThisIsASign. The launch comes on foot of research findings, conducted into awareness levels and self-checking behaviours in Ireland. Ads are running on outdoor sites in Dublin city as well as street activations.
The OOH, experiential and digital ads aim to drive awareness around the eight signals and symptoms of the disease and the importance of early detection, highlighting the fact that as well as an unusual lump – there are seven further signs to look out for. Simutaneously, the charity’s outreach co-ordinators nationwide are rolling out a series of free seminars and talks to schools and community groups, including minority groups.
The talks focus on the subject of breast health, showing the signs and symptoms and advising people how they themselves can perform a proper self-check. Pre-campaign research studies commissioned by BCI, showed that a worrying 46 per cent of people asked, did not know about what signs they should look out for when self-checking, while a further 56 per cent of people are self-checking “only when they remember” to do so.
Most concerning of all, were the 11 per cent of women who “never” check their breasts.
OOH executions include a 52ft x 26ft light projection at Barnardo Square in Dublin city centre, 48 sheets, Luas columns, Adshels and Digipods, ensuring that the messages become an almost unmissable part of daily life. Aisling Hurley, CEO, BCI, said she hoped the campaign can move the dial in changing women’s behaviour in identifying any abnormalities as soon as these arise, and swiftly making an appointment with their GP for further investigation.
Key statistics:
- One in seven women will develop breast cancer in the course of their lifetime.
- One in 738 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer
- Every 29 seconds someone in the world is diagnosed with breast cancer
- There are 3,700 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in Ireland each year
- 23 per cent of women are diagnosed between the ages of 20-50 years
- 34 per cent of women are diagnosed between the ages of 50-69 years
- 36 per cent of women are diagnosed over the age of 70 years
- Only five to ten per cent of breast cancer cases are hereditary
