Landmarks light up in aid of breast cancer awareness month

Landmarks up and down the country such as the Mayflower Theatre, Spinnaker Tower and, The Grand Pier were illuminated in purple on Sunday night in aid of Secondary Breast Cancer, with October being Breast Cancer Awareness month.

This is the 2nd year of Make 2nds Count and their initiative to get the word out about Secondary Breast Cancer, with a 25% increase of landmarks involved in getting illuminated compared to last year.

During this rollout Make 2nds Count revealed a two-year commitment to improve their network by providing support and growing a connected community.

Sam Dixon, CEO of Make 2nds Count said: “The 1,000 truths is a poignant reminder of the faces behind the statistics, these are not just numbers.

“By sharing these 1,000 stories, we aim to give a voice to those living with Secondary Breast Cancer.

“Our goal is to ensure that every face is heard, every story is told and every life is empowered.”

According to a recent survey carried out by Make 2nds Count, 38% of respondents did not know what secondary breast cancer was and 21% didn’t know what symptoms to look for.

Statistics that Make 2nds Count will hope to decrease these numbers over the coming years.

Currently more than 61,000 people live with the disease as well as 1,000 lives being lost a month.

Londoner Kay Andrews who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in April last year but is currently a volunteer with Make 2nds Count, said that it was difficult at first to “get her head around it” losing her breasts and hair.

Just a month after her diagnosis she learnt that the disease had ended up spreading throughout her body and became incurable.

She said: “I’m trying to live my life as normally as possible, I don’t want the disease to define who I am.”

Make 2nds Count will hope that people will participate in their ‘Shine A Light” campaign, they can do this by visiting the landmarks, sharing the photos of the building shining purple and engaging with the 1,000 truths stories on the Make 2nds Count website, this can be done to raise awareness and also see what it is like to live with this sort of disease.