MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Keith Brown, has shown his support for women affected by breast cancer by dressing up in pink and encouraging their constituents to take part in the UK’s biggest, brightest and pinkest fundraiser, wear it pink, on Friday 21 October.
Back for its 15th year, wear it pink is calling on supporters across the country to add a flash of pink to their wardrobe for the day and raise money for Breast Cancer Now’s life-saving breast cancer research.
Keith recently joined fellow members of parliament in Holyrood to encourage people across Scotland to get involved and help support Breast Cancer Now’s efforts to ensure that, by 2050, everyone who develops breast cancer lives – an ambition shared by the Scottish Government.
wear it pink raises close to £2 million each year for world-class research into breast cancer, and this year it’s going to be pinker and more fun than ever before. Anyone can take part, whether at work, at home or at school. All you have to do is wear something pink and donate what you can.
Keith Brown MSP said: “Around 4,600 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in Scotland. Almost 1,000 people die from the disease. We must act now to stop this devastating disease in its tracks.
“Breast Cancer Now’s cutting edge research is making a huge difference. But we all need to join forces and act now, to do our bit to stop women dying from breast cancer by 2050. I’m fully behind the charity’s ambition and I support wear it pink.
“I hope everyone in the local community will join me by wearing it pink this Friday and show their support for Breast Cancer Now.
Breast Cancer Now’s Director for Scotland, Mary Allison, said: “I’m delighted that MSPs are coming together again this year to support wear it pink. Their continued support means a lot.
“More Scots are being diagnosed with breast cancer than a decade ago and it remains the most common cancer among women. We also know that while huge progress has been made in improving survival, almost 1,000 people a year in Scotland still die from this devastating disease.
“That’s why we need to continue to support research and find better ways to prevent, detect and treat breast cancer.
Sign up to wear it pink on Friday 21 October to support Breast Cancer Now’s life-saving research. For more information or to register, visit www.wearitpink.org.
Notes:
In March 2016, every mainstream political party got behind Breast Cancer Now’s 2050 Challenge campaign. It means that the Scottish Government and Parliament are committed to helping stop deaths from breast cancer by 2050.
The 2050 commitment is contained in the Scottish Government’s Cancer Strategy. Its ambition is:
“To stop anyone dying from breast cancer by 2050, a shared ambition with Breast Cancer Now.
About Breast Cancer Now:
Breast Cancer Now is the UK’s largest breast cancer charity.
Breast Cancer Now’s ambition is that by 2050 everyone who develops breast cancer will live. The charity is determined to stop women dying from the disease, working in a new, collaborative way and bringing together all those affected by breast cancer to fund research, share knowledge and find answers.
Breast Cancer Now’s world-class research is focused entirely on breast cancer. The charity supports nearly 400 of the world’s brightest researchers at more than 30 locations across the UK and Ireland. Together, they’re working to discover how to prevent breast cancer, how to detect it earlier and how to treat it effectively at every stage so we can stop the disease taking lives.
Breast cancer is still the most common cancer in the UK. Nearly 700,000 people living in the UK have experienced a diagnosis and one in eight women will face it in their lifetime. This year alone, more than 50,000 women will be told they have the disease.
The UK still has one of the lowest breast cancer survival rates in Western Europe and this year alone around 11,500 women and 80 men will lose their lives. It’s time to act.
Breast Cancer Now launched in June 2015, created by the merger of leading research charities Breast Cancer Campaign and Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
For more information on Breast Cancer Now’s work, visit breastcancernow.org or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.