M&S is making potentially life-saving changes to more than 2,000 of its store fitting rooms across the UK after one of its workers was diagnosed with cancer. New signs will be rolled out to thousands of changing rooms in stores across the country with guidance on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.
Employee Lucy Dawson pitched the signage directly to M&S CEO Stuart Machin and it will soon be implemented in every cubicle in the women’s and lingerie fitting rooms at 110 stores. Lucy came up with the scheme while going for a bra fitting after she had gone through chemotherapy treatment.
A food team manager at M&S in Tamworth, Lucy - who was 24 when she was diagnosed - realised that there were no signs of what to look for when checking your breasts anywhere in the fitting room and thought it was the idea place to share guidance on the symptoms of breast cancer.
“So many people only associate breast cancer with a lump, when in fact there are so many other symptoms," Lucy told BirminghamLive. "I don’t think I would know all the symptoms of breast cancer if I hadn’t gone through it myself.
"Being diagnosed at such a young age really opened my eyes as I don’t think many young people realise it can impact them. I’m so incredibly proud that the idea is now being rolled out nationwide because it is such a simple idea that has the potential to save lives.”
The new signage will support Marks & Spencer's initiative with long-term charity partner, Breast Cancer Now. The roll-out coincides with M&S’ new campaign, ‘Love your boobs. It starts with a bra fit’, which celebrates boobs of all shapes, sizes and life stages.
As the UK's biggest bra retailer, M&S sold 21 million bras in 2022, while its 2,000 trained bra fitters fit more than 900,000 customers every year. It's hoped the move will aid early detection and encourage more people to regularly touch, look and check their breasts.
Subscribe here for the latest news where you live
Breast Cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 15% of all cancer cases in females and males combined. Around 55,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK, however the sooner the disease is diagnosed, the better the chances of treatment being successful.
The signs, which have also been posted in colleague changing rooms, will include the charity’s logo and QR code which people can scan to take them to Breast Cancer Now’s website to find out more. Over the last 20 years, M&S has raised £33 million for Breast Cancer Now through sales of post-surgery bras, swimwear and more and through 900,000 customers choosing Breast Cancer Now as their chosen Sparks charity.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, said: “We’re delighted to be building on our partnership with M&S by raising vital awareness of breast cancer signs and symptoms with people in M&S changing rooms across the country. Currently one in seven women in the UK will receive the devastating news they have breast cancer – with this set to increase by one in six by 2050, it’s more crucial than ever that people know the signs and symptoms of the disease.
“We know that the sooner breast cancer is diagnosed, the better the chances of treatment being successful. By arming millions of people across the UK with this health information, we’ll help ensure more people who have breast cancer get diagnosed sooner, so they have a better chance of successful treatment. A huge thank you to the M&S colleagues who submitted this idea to Stuart and to M&S for launching this vital campaign."
