Yorkshire cancer survivor launches campaign on International Women’s Day
A survivor of breast cancer is marking a two-year anniversary of her mastectomy operation by launching a campaign in fight of the disease on International Women’s Day.
Emma Kirke, a Yorkshire-based nutritionist, is helping in the fight to raise awareness and funds for Cancer Research UK through a social media campaign dubbed #DareToBare.
Wakefield-based Emma Kirke, ambassador for Cancer Research UK, opted for a double mastectomy after receiving a diagnosis that she had breast cancer in her right breast. At the time of her diagnosis, her grandmother was battling cancer and the disease had claimed the lives of her great aunt and great grandmother, so she knew first-hand of its devastating effects.
Emma undertook the operation to remove both her breasts in February 2015 and now wants to spread the word of the importance of checking breasts in both women and men.
#DareToBare aims to encourage people to take a topless selfie covering your breasts with your hands or by using props, creativity is encouraged. The challenge is complete when people donate to the dedicated pot of funds, which is being managed by Swoosch.it, a new crowd funding platform for social occasions and charity fundraising. All funds raised will go to Cancer Research UK, both photos are uploaded to social media and three friends are tagged with the hashtag to continue the
campaign.
Emma says:
“When doctors told me I had a lump in my right breast, I decided I wasn’t going to become a victim. I took the decision to have a double mastectomy to prevent going through this again and I want to encourage more women and men to check their breasts so they don’t have to go through what I have, or worse.”
Nicki Embleton, Regional Media Relations manager at Cancer Research UK, adds:
“We are very grateful to Emma for launching her daring campaign to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer, which will affect 1 in 8 women and 1 in 870 men during their lifetime. But the good news is that more and more are surviving breast cancer than ever before, thanks to earlier detection and better treatments, for which research is key. So be ‘breast aware’ - look at and feel your breasts, know what is normal for you and what changes to look for and see your doctor about any unusual changes. For more information about breast cancer visit www.cruk.org
To get involved with the campaign follow these five steps:
1. Snap a picture covering your breasts / chest
2. Visit https://swoosch.it/link/dare-to-bare and donate an amount of your choice
3. Upload both pictures to social media (Facebook is best)
4. Use the hashtag #DareToBare
5. Tag in three friends to complete the challenge next