A simple monthly boob check could save your life, say Sheffield students

That’s what first drew final-year University of Sheffield law student Emily Fildes to the charity CoppaFeel! and now she is the president of the Sheffield University Boob Team, a breast cancer awareness organisation spreading the word of the charity’s work.

CoppaFeel! aims to get the message across to younger people that breast cancer can hit them as well.

Emily said that the charity’s founder, Kristin Hallenga, found a lump in her breast when she was only 22 and eventually discovered she has incurable breast cancer.

It took three visits to doctors for he r to be taken seriously and by that time her cancer had spread to her spine and was at stage four.

The mission of CoppaFeel! is to make all young people – not just women – aware that breast cancer could happen to them too.

Emily said: “We try and get the word out to men that they can also get breast cancer. I live with a few boys and they didn’t even realise they can get it.

"I said that’s because there’s a stigma around it. Everyone who has breast tissue can get it, regardless of gender.”

CoppaFeel! gets the ‘check yourself’ message across in a fun, accessible way.

Emily said: “I first saw CoppaFeel! at the fresher’s fair as the president was there, dressed in a giant boob costume. I thought why is she dressed in a giant boob costume?

“It’s the one thing that grabs people’s attention. I got involved with fundraising events and I’ve been involved ever since.”

This year it’s been harder to recruit new people to the team as fresher’s fair was online but the group are keeping up their fundraising with virtual events.

Usually they run bake sales and murder mystery nights, film nights and glitter parties at the student union.

Emily said: “We’ve run cupcake competitions with people at home, where people did cupcakes in the shape of boobs and send in the picture, then we judge them.

"We’ve had movie watch-alongs from home and sports teams at our university will happily wear pink and give us the fundraising money from that.

"I don’t know how we would raise the money this year otherwise.”

Nearly a million have missed breast screening

Every university boob team pledges to try to raise £1,000 a year for CoppaFeel!.

Emily said that every £5 raised pays for 100 texts to be sent to people who sign up for a monthly reminder to check their breasts or pecs.

A donation of £10 can buy all the equipment for a Boobette ambassador for the charity to go out to talk to groups to share their own experience of breast cancer and £25 can buy stickers for people to put in the shower to remind them to do their breast checks.

Emily said that most people will check while they’re having a shower.

"We say to check once a month and tell people to text UBTSHEF to 70500 and that gives you a free text reminder,” said Emily. “It’s easy to forget.”

Their advice is to get to know your breasts or pecs and to notice any differences in their look or feel, then to get anything worrying checked out by a doctor immediately.

"If you just get comfortable with your own body, that way you will see any changes. It’s about being able to see and feel and look in a mirror,” said Emily.

She said one of her committee members found a lump and got it checked but luckily it was benign. “We get people coming up tellign us they found a lump and say ‘because of you I’ve got familiar with checking myself’.

"It’s crazy how many people come up to tell us. You really get to know that you are making a difference.”

October is breast cancer awareness month. To find out more, go to www.coppafeel.org and donate to the group at the Sheffield Uni Boob Team Just Giving page.