The app that could make all the difference...

Pioneering breast cancer charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer is tackling the disease head-on with the launch of a groundbreaking new iPhone application – the free-to-download iBreastCheck.

In response to the ongoing need to encourage breast awareness, the pioneering charity has launched iBreastCheck, the UK’s first app designed to encourage women to be breast aware.  It aims to increase the number of women who regularly check their breasts, improve understanding of the signs and symptoms to look out for, as well as build awareness of the risk factors associated with the disease and what women can do to reduce them.

Bernie Nolan, who is currently being treated for the disease, commented,

“This is an incredible development from Breakthrough Breast Cancer.  I only wish it had been thought of sooner.  The earlier breast cancer is found, the better the chance of beating it, which is why I would urge every woman to get into the habit of being breast aware and following Breakthrough Breast Cancer’s simple Touch Look Check message - it could make all the difference.”

Breast cancer is the UK’s most commonly diagnosed cancer with nearly 46,000 women diagnosed each year. Around 1,000 women die of breast cancer every month in the UK.

Free to download from iTunes, iBreastCheck will feature the charity’s award-winning Touch Look Check (TLC) breast awareness message, which will be supported by video and images to explain what women need to look for when checking themselves for anything unusual.

Users will also be able to take ‘The Risk Report’ – a unique and interactive quiz which enables women to enter details about themselves to asses their own risk of breast cancer, based on family history, lifestyle and environmental factors.  With this information, a report will be generated advising women of which risk factors might be most relevant to them.

In a bid to increase the number of women regularly checking their breasts, the app also features an in-built alert system enabling women to set a personalised reminder to themselves to check their breasts at a time and date convenient for them.

Edith  Bowman, DJ & Presenter, said, "My mum survived breast cancer, we were lucky to catch it so early, so the work that Breakthrough Breast Cancer does is incredibly close to my heart.  

“Many women aren’t checking their breasts because they either don’t think they are at risk, don’t know how to check themselves or just simply forget to do it. It’s fantastic that Breakthrough Breast Cancer has developed  iBreastCheck specifically with all these considerations in mind. I'll have it to remind me to check and hopefully thousands of women will do the same."

For more information about iBreastCheck visit www.ibreastcheck.com

The iBreastcheck was developed in partnership with web design agency Torchbox.