Congratulations to the Trust Breast Unit team on successfully completing the MagTeam100 challenge to raise funds for UK charity Prevent Breast Cancer by walking, cycling and, in some cases, running, 100 miles during Breast Cancer Awareness month this October.
Fiona Tsang-Wright, Consultant Breast and Reconstructive Surgeon at the Trust, is keen to promote the importance of breast cancer awareness and saw involvement in this challenge as a great way to achieve this.
According to Fiona: “The COVID-19 pandemic has affected breast cancer services across the UK. Our Trust Breast Unit is the largest breast unit in Buckinghamshire, we normally see 5,000 patients a year. However, at the peak of the pandemic we noticed an 80-90% reduction in referrals to our clinics and this has significant implications for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Over the last couple of months, I’m very pleased to note we have returned to our usual pre-pandemic level of activity. We want to encourage women and men to contact their GP if they have worrying symptoms and to reassure them that, if necessary, we are able to diagnose and treat our patients in safe, COVID-19 secure environments.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month each October gives us all an opportunity to raise awareness about breast cancer – to highlight signs and symptoms for which women and men should seek medical advice, to raise funds for vital research and to support those who have breast cancer as well as their families.
This October, my team has taken up the MagTeam100 challenge with gusto; 18 members of the Bucks Breast Unit will have walked, cycled or run 100 miles in October to raise funds for the UK charity Prevent Breast Cancer. The challenge was initially daunting, however, by supporting each other and regularly sharing our distances and times, we realised that it was possible. As well as raising valuable funds we have grown closer as a team and have each got a lot fitter!
As we approach the end of the month, and have achieved our target, everyone in the team can reflect on our combined success: over 1,800 miles covered and over £3,000 raised for Prevent Breast Cancer – which is fantastic.
Thank you to all those who have supported us. We are now dreaming of our next challenge.”
