So let's talk boobs, yes, you read that right, BOOBS! We are comfortable talking about breast feeding, poos and hormones but how often do we discuss our boobs?
As many people will know the hormone changes your body goes through after birth can affect you in many ways, including around your breast area, the majority of the time these changes are nothing to worry about, but occasionally there will be things that you will need to get checked out by your Doctor. But in order to be aware of these changes you need to be checking your breasts regularly, so you can spot any new or unusual changes.
At Mama Bamboo we want to help educate our customers on this important topic so we are delighted to be supporting MyBOOBRisk, a breast health and well-being incentive program designed to promote regular breast self-examinations.
We chatted to Dr Paul Darbyshire, Chief Scientific Officer at MyBOOBRisk Ltd about the program and how it works.
Why do we need to perform breast self-checks?
Adult women of all ages are encouraged to perform breast self-checks at least once a month. For women still menstruating, a breast self-check should be performed a few days after their period ends. The main purpose of a breast self-check is to become familiar with the way your breasts look and feel. Knowing how your breasts normally look and feel will help you better identify any changes.
However, actually monitoring your breast health is vital for many reasons. For example, breast cancer can often show up in ways other than a lump on the breast. In the large majority of cases lumps often turn out to be harmless cysts and fat tissue, or something connected to the time of the month when hormones are constantly fluctuating, causing unusual changes to the breast tissue. In fact, some breast cancers can manifest themselves in other ways. Often, before any actual diagnosis, women with breast cancer may experience symptoms which tend to cluster together, such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and pain. But as any new parent will know these could also all be attributed to post-natal body and hormone changes.
What is MyBOOBRisk?
Based on the above, a companion to regular breast self-checking that allows you to record and chronicle changes in your breasts and monitor for other early warning signs, would be an extremely valuable resource. In a nutshell, we offer a free breast health and wellbeing Incentive Scheme designed to promote regular breast self-checks and reporting. That is, we provide members with offers & discounts on fashion, travel, food & drink, health & beauty, flowers & gifts, and home & garden, etc., every time they perform a monthly breast self-check and complete their digital diary.
How does it work?
After performing a routine monthly breast self-check, you simply complete the quick and easy digital diary, which allows you to highlight any persistent breast observations (from a list), as well as potential underlying symptoms (from a list), that you may have experienced over the past month. During the completion of the digital diary, you can also give each observation and symptom a level of severity (i.e., 1 - 10). In addition, several clinically validated assessments are also available, which cover other potential causal factors, such as sleep disturbance, mood and anxiety, stress levels, and fatigue. After an initial three months of regular reporting, all available information is analysed under strict NICE clinical guidelines to determine whether it may be necessary to seek professional consultation (red flag) or if the situation should be monitored over the next several months to allow for a more informed decision (amber flag). An analysis of possible symptom clusters is also performed with the aim of identifying potential early warning signs. Beyond three months, the underlying algorithms can continually monitor the situation after each monthly breast self-check, on a three-month rolling basis. If an amber or red flag if identified, an automated health notification is sent out with appropriate guidance on what to do next, if anything. At all times, in strict adherence to NICE guidelines on the early diagnosis of breast cancer.
Where did the idea come from?
For some time, it has been common knowledge that there is nothing available to help women effectively manage their breast health until they are eligible for the national breast screening programme, normally around age 50. There is growing evidence, backed by a continued rise in younger women being diagnosed with breast cancer, to call for the age to be reduced to 40, but this is still an ongoing debate.
Having built the technology, we were very mindful that, although women are generally aware that they should be regularly checking their breasts, getting them to do so is not so straightforward. So, the Incentive Scheme was developed to help gently encourage women to check their breasts regularly and stay safe, while also allowing them to save money with the hundreds of offers and discounts available.
How many brands do you work with?
We currently have over 450 supporting brand partners onboard and another 350 in the pipeline. New offers & discounts are constantly being added to the Incentive Scheme, to keep it fresh and exciting for members. There is also an active Knowledge Hub with a wealth of information, tips, and guides on a range of relevant topics. As well as more general content on Fitness & Exercise, Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition & Diet, and Lifestyle & Living, supported by a range of more focused offers and discounts.
How can Mama Bamboo customers get involved?
You can sign up for MyBOOBRisk and share this newsletter with family & friends, to help get the message out to more women.
You can also visit us at www.myboobrisk.com and take advantage of a selection of exclusive discounts already waiting for you. If you want hundreds more, sign up, and you can also manage your breast health & wellbeing at the same time, all for FREE!
