This week on Spill The Tea with WKC, we’re joined by chemotherapy nurse Gemma Reeves, who has witnessed first-hand the heart-breaking rise of breast cancer in younger women.
Gemma recently launched a petition calling for routine mammograms in the UK to begin at age 40 instead of 50 a campaign focused on earlier detection and saving lives.
In a major step forward, the petition has now passed 100,000 signatures, meaning it must be considered for parliamentary debate.
Currently, the NHS Breast Screening Programme invites women aged 50 to 70 for a mammogram every three years. Those guidelines are based on evidence reviewed by the UK National Screening Committee, which assesses when screening provides more benefit than harm.
But with diagnoses increasingly affecting younger women, Gemma and many others are asking whether the current system is still fit for purpose.
Breast cancer isn’t just statistics it’s our friends and family. Jinty lost her best friend to breast cancer at 43 after both of us found lumps at the same time. Jinty’s was benign. Hers wasn’t. That’s why conversations like this matter.
In this episode we discuss:
• What change Gemma is asking the government to make
• What she’s seeing on the frontline of cancer care
• Why the myth that younger women don’t get breast cancer is so dangerous
• The symptoms women at any age should never ignore
• How she carries the emotional weight of caring for patients while campaigning nationally
Alongside this powerful conversation, we also take a lighter wander through the week, including a nostalgic look back at the public service adverts Gen X grew up watching, some wonderful collective nouns for groups of animals, and a delightful contribution from our dear friend Tom Read Wilson, who shares a collective noun for a group of menopausal women.
Stay with us to the end for a little inspiration to carry you through the week.
Gemma Reeves:
Instagram: @check_the_girls
Petition: Lower The Age For Invites To Regular Mammograms To 40 & Perform Annually: www.petition.parliament.uk/petitions/742179/signatures/new
For breast Cancer Information:
CoppaFeel: www.coppafeel.org
Breast Cancer UK: www.breastcanceruk.org.uk
Breast Cancer Now: www.breastcancernow.org
Cancer Research UK: www.cancerresearchuk.org
Macmillan Cancer Support: www.macmillan.org.uk
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