‘Speed is of the essence’: Liz Hurley encourages people to see a doctor if they think they have breast cancer
One woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer every 10 minutes in this country and one man every day and yet until the 1990s it wasn’t a topic for discussion. Ever.
Evelyn Lauder, whose mother-in-law Estee Lauder founded the famous cosmetics company of the same name, was one of the first to change that.
Co-creator of the pink ribbon in 1989, a few years later Lauder signed up the actress and model Liz Hurley to be the global ambassador for the Estee Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign.
The move helped open up the breast cancer conversation.
Hurley, whose grandmother died of breast cancer, tells Sky News: “I think we’ve come a long way in the years that I’ve been with Estee Lauder Companies’ breast cancer campaign.
“Certainly when the campaign was started 30 years ago there was virtually no awareness of breast cancer.
“The pink ribbon hadn’t been invented. October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month didn’t exist.
“When my grandmother was diagnosed in the early 90s she found her own lump and was mortified and embarrassed and didn’t tell anyone including her doctor for about a year by which time unfortunately it had spread. So that’s why this campaign was started to try and make breast cancer not something that was whispered but shouted about.”
And yet despite all the publicity every October, 10% of women never check their breasts and two in five rarely do.
They think it will never happen to them but Hurley says that’s a big risk.
She continues: “Unfortunately one in eight of us will get breast cancer in our lifetime. So it’s sort of playing the odds quite dramatically if you think you won’t be one of those eight.
“I think it’s probably better when you’re of the age to get screened, which is 50 plus in the UK, and I personally believe because I know so many women who found their own lumps in their own breasts when they’re younger, that I feel it would be good advice to check your breasts regularly.
“But I think knowing that mortality rates have dropped more than 42% since the late 80s is because treatments are better, treatments are targeted and most breast cancers are found earlier.”
Breast cancer remains a taboo subject in some Asian and African communities, where cancer treatment can amongst other things affect fertility.
Hurley says: “‘It’s very important for us to learn about these difficulties. Different types of breast cancer affect different types of women very differently. And we’re finding out more and more about that and putting more and more of our research money actually into studies to examine how breast cancer can affect diverse communities.”
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Going to the GP quickly can be the key to surviving this disease, which still kills 11,500 women in the UK every year, or 31 every day.
And if you find a lump it will be acted upon.
Hurley continues: “‘From the women I’ve spoken to if they found a lump in their breasts the NHS deals with it very quickly in taking them to the next stage, which is biopsy.
“Most people sort of know their bodies and we know if something doesn’t feel right.
“It might not be something as tangible as a lump. It could just be feeling bad and then in that case you have to be very firm and try and get as many tests as you can – at the very least a blood test. I would advise people if they feel something is wrong to be as persistent as you can with your doctor.”
Scientists are closer to finding a cure than they were 10 years ago but they are not there yet.
Hurley says: “The fact that there’s targeted treatments now means women are more likely to survive today than in the past. But everything hinges on early detection, for a breast cancer to be found early and it’s still localised there’s more than a 90% chance of survival.
“I would say be breast aware, familiarise yourself with your own breasts. Be aware of any changes and don’t be afraid to go to the doctor. Quickly. Speed is of the essence.”
Entertainment
‘I’m shocked at how fragile I am still’: Cumberbatch and Colman on protecting their sanity from perils of social media
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch says he’s shocked at how “fragile” he still is – despite years in the spotlight and success in the industry.
It might seem like the Doctor Strange star and The Crown actress Olivia Colman have it all when it comes to money and success – but they are also human like the rest of us.
The pair lead the cast of new satirical black comedy The Roses, which sees picture-perfect couple Ivy and Theo Rose – a rising star chef and ambitious architect – raise their two children in California, while chasing their own dreams.
‘I am shocked at how fragile I am’
But behind its dark humour and comic language, the film also looks at the realities of power imbalance, insecurity and wounded pride – in even the strongest of relationships.
And 49-year-old Cumberbatch – whose character faces a major setback in his career – tells Sky News that in real life the glare of social media only intensifies those type of situations.
“I am shocked at how fragile I am still.
“I don’t go anywhere near it [social media] because of that.
“It’s like walking into a place where people want to marry you or kill you. Those extremes.
“I think we will get to a stage, a corporate culture that’s now manifested around it where people are obliged to do that in order to sell their lives, and therefore their brand and what they do for a living.”
Co-star Colman – who’s long-shunned the online world – agrees.
Cumberbatch and Colman in The Roses. Pic: Jaap Buitendijk/ Searchlight Pictures
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“I’m afraid I am very thin-skinned.
“I don’t look at any of it. My husband will look at a review and if it’s nice he’ll show me – but if it’s anything mean he knows to just go ‘don’t look – don’t look.’
“You just have to learn to be thicker-skinned.
“But actually, I think we need people who are sensitive and kind.”
‘Don’t do it… delete it all’
Colman – now 51, and whose leading role in The Favourite bagged her an Academy Award in 2019 – says no amount of experience and success can shield her from criticism.
“My advice to a young’un – sort of dipping their toe into the world of social media for the first time is absolutely don’t do it.
“Delete it all. If you want a happy life, don’t have any of it. I’ve never had it.”
The movie – directed by Meet The Parents’ Jay Roach with The Favourite screenwriter Tony McNamara – also calls into question the notion of success – asking, is it really possible to have it all?
Or is sacrifice inevitable when it comes to spinning the plates of a high-flying career, marriage and parenthood?
Cumberbatch admits “you can’t do it all without there being a cost”.
“You just have to weigh up what those balances are,” he adds.
Colman says “there are I suppose little sacrifices along the way” – from both sides of a relationship.
The comedy drama offers a fresh take on Warren Adler’s novel The War Of The Roses – and the 1989 hit film adaptation- starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.
Colman and Cumberbatch – both producers on the film – insist they weren’t daunted by that though.
“We wanted to find a project to do together, and we have utter respect for the iconic status of the film and book,” explains Cumberbatch.
“Hopefully this will have its own place in the culture – it’s very different, it’s not a remake – it’s a reimagined jumping-on point.”
“But beyond that, it’s very different,” adds Colman.
Former Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa and Barbie’s Kate McKinnon also form the cast.
The Roses is out in UK cinemas now.
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