Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Jo’s story
One of our Contract Managers shares her experience
October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an important time of year to raise awareness and show support for people who have been affected by the disease.
Whilst working as a Centre Manager at Places Leisure Eastleigh, Jo had a routine breast screening check booked in.
It was during this time that Jo was diagnosed with breast cancer; a piece of news that changed her life.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, with around 55,000 women and 400 men being diagnosed every year.
Although the news came as a shock to Jo, the team at her local hospital were hugely supportive. Across just over a month, Jo underwent major surgery, reconstruction, and a course of treatment.
Exercise can bring a lot of benefits to people’s recovery routine, and as a long-standing Group Workout Instructor, this is something Jo knows very well. So, during her recovery, she looked to increase her physical activity during her time away from the centre.
“I was fully aware of the exercises I could undertake as I was not able to teach for four months due to the surgery, so I would go to the gym 3-4 times a week and would undertake low impact weight training and light core work, combined with regular stretching.” Jo said.
To encourage more women to have their routine breast screening checks, Places Leisure Eastleigh proudly hosts an NHS breast screening service within its grounds.
As well attending breast screening services, knowing the signs and symptoms of breast cancer can also help. So, how do you check?
That’s where the Change and Check campaign comes in to help. Its aim is to raise awareness and promote the early detection of breast cancer, typically through Change and Check stickers which illustrate the signs of breast cancer, such as lumps, swelling, dimpling, unusual pain, or colour change.
You can find these stickers across our centres and in many public bathrooms and changing rooms across the UK. A simple read of these can make all the difference in knowing what to look out for when it comes to spotting signs or symptoms of breast cancer.
Jo’s journey is inspiring and shows the appreciation of the NHS’ services that are helping more Communities detect breast cancer early.
Sources: Breast cancer facts and statistics (Breast Cancer Now) | Breast cancer statistics (Cancer Research UK)
