Breast cancer adverts encourage more women to see GP

A BREAST-cancer campaign launched last year by the Scottish Government helped lead to a 50 per cent rise in women consulting their GP for breast-cancer symptoms.

The advert, featuring actress Elaine C Smith, was launched in September and was the first in the UK to show real pictures of women’s breasts with visible signs of breast cancer.

Figures showed that between September and November 2012, 21,000 women consulted their GP for breast cancer symptoms, which was a 50 per cent increase from 13,900 on the same period in 2011.

Health secretary Alex Neil said: “The earlier a cancer is diagnosed the greater the chance it can be treated successfully.

“That is why it is so important that women know how to spot the signs of breast cancer early on. These figures show our bold breast-cancer campaign has been effective in getting people talking about breast cancer, and in encouraging women to contact their GP if they are worried about changes in their breasts.”