Derry's Pink Ladies urge everyone to 'be your own hero' for your health

Michelle McLaren and Martin Mullan from the Pink Ladies and Pink Panthers spoke to the Journal to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October and ahead of ‘Movember.’ which raises awareness of men’s health issues.

Michelle said that while October and November focus on cancers such as breast, prostate and testicular, people need to be aware of their bodies all year round. She stressed how early detection is key and added that, while finding a lump or change in your body can be frightening, it may not be cancer – the most important thing you can do is get it checked out.

“We urge anyone who may feel as if something is wrong to ring their GP. This is an emergency and the GP will treat is as such. You may feel completely well and think that is nothing to worry about, but it’s worth getting things checked.

"Covid 19 played a massive part in people not accessing their GP services and unfortunately, we have seen that it has led to a later diagnosis of a range of different cancers in both men and women. Our hope now is that people will continue attending screening programmes, we have bowel screenings, cervical, mammograms etc and we’re so lucky to have access to those. There is nothing like the peace of mind you get when that letter comes through the door to say everything is ok.”

Martin also highlighted the importance of self-checking and said there are also ‘amazing apps’ which can tell you the best way to do this.

He and Michelle asked people to ‘listen to your gut’ when it comes to health.

“If you find anything wrong or think there’s something wrong, listen to your gut. It might not be anything drastic, it could just be that something is off. If you know something is wrong, demand to be seen by your doctor. If you find a lump, or think there might be something wrong, it’s an emergency.

She added: “If anyone is worrying about anything and just want a chat, please ring us. We have an amazing team and we will help you, may that be trying to get that appointment if you are having difficulty in doing so – we will help as best we can. We want to support people through their cancer journey. We wish there wasn’t cancer, but unfortunately it’s there and it is not always a death sentence. There are people living well with cancer.”

As October is breast cancer awareness month, Michelle said any woman or man should look for any lumps or bumps in their breasts which are not normal for them, a change in the breast, any type of leakage in the nipple, cuts or rashes not going away, dimpling in the breast, a soreness that is not going away, or one breast suddenly becoming a lot bigger than the other. Also, make sure you check under your armpits for any swellings or lumps that are different.

“You will not be wasting anyone’s time. You have to be proactive in your health and you have to be your own hero.”