Plymouth, East Cornwall and West Devon’s breast care charity, The Primrose Foundation, is marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October by launching a campaign to raise money to provide wig funding for those patients who’ve lost their hair following breast cancer treatment.
The The Primrose Foundation charity has a one-week campaign with The Big Give, running between October 11 and 18. The Foundation is looking to raise £2,500 from donations which would be doubled to £5,000 by The Big Give who will match fund donations.
Earlier this year, The Primrose Foundation teamed up with Plymouth-based non-profit organisation Roots to Rise to offer £100 wig vouchers for recovering breast cancer patients to have a beautiful wig fitted for them. With at least 60 people requiring this service locally every year, the scheme needs £6,000 a year to continue.
Madeleine Matthews, fundraising coordinator for The Primrose Foundation, said:
“We came up with this powerful project because we know just how difficult this side effect of breast cancer treatment can be for so many people. Hair loss is incredibly upsetting, and some people can’t afford the luxury of a correctly fitted wig, so offering wig funding is a real comfort at a testing time.
“We know that great things can happen when our community comes together,” she added, “and any donation made by local people and businesses between October 11 and 18 will have twice the impact as it’s match funded.”
People can donate – on those days only – by visiting the Primrose Foundation’s website, which links to the donation page,
www.primrosefoundation.org/bits-and-blogs/2023/8/12/the-big-wig-campaign
The Foundation has supported The Primrose Breast Care Centre at Derriford Hospital for over 28 years, raising public awareness, supporting those affected by breast cancer and helping to enhance breast care services locally.
Each year over 25,000 people are seen at The Primrose Breast Care Centre and between 400 and 600 breast cancers are diagnosed and treated. It’s thanks to the help and support of The Primrose Foundation that the Centre has become a service of excellence.
Other recent Foundation projects include part funding a screening awareness double-decker bus in Plymouth, which has been driving home the message that breast screening saves lives. It follows the release of figures earlier this year which showed a worrying fall in the uptake of breast screening appointments nationally and locally, with the overall uptake in the Plymouth area dropping to 72.5%.
In some parts of Plymouth, the figure has dropped to 54%. As a result, The Primrose Foundation is also using Breast Cancer Awareness Month to re-emphasise the awareness message, with its ‘LOVE’ campaign. It’s encouraging everyone to LOVE themselves enough to be breast aware:
L – Looking out for lumps, bumps, or dimpling
O – Observe changes or something new
V – Voice your concerns to a medical professional
E – Echo this message to others
The charity recommends getting to know your body and knowing your ‘normal’. On social media, the Foundation issues a monthly self-check Sunday reminder to everyone to LOVE themselves enough to be breast-aware and hopes that this Breast Cancer Awareness Month, everyone with breast tissue takes a few minutes to check their breasts and the areas around them.
The Foundation is also promoting its Big Bra Drop campaign, which encourages people to donate a pre-loved, good-quality bra.
Shelley Coleman, Trustee of The Primrose Foundation, explained: “How many times have you purchased a bra, worn it a few times, then relegated it to the back of the drawer because it’s just not quite right? Often, we suspect.
“In fact, many of us have several bras tucked away that have never even been worn! With our Big Bra Drop, we can make use of them by recycling them and giving them new life, so please consider donating your new or nearly new bras to The Primrose Foundation.”
More information is in the Campaigns section of the Foundation’s website.
