‘Speed is of the essence’: Liz Hurley encourages people to see a doctor if they think they have breast cancer

Published

8 months ago

October 6, 2023

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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.”

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

P Diddy: Stars react to video showing rapper attacking Cassie Ventura in hotel hallway

Published

7 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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P Diddy: Stars react to video showing rapper attacking Cassie Ventura in hotel hallway

Stars have hit out at rapper P Diddy following the release of CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.

Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing

The video, which was obtained by CNN, was shot on 5 March eight years ago and shows the 54-year-old – whose real name is Sean Combs – shirtless and wearing just a white towel and brightly coloured socks, punching and kicking Ventura.

The R&B singer, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.

The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging her across the floor, as well as throwing a glass vase in her direction.

It closely resembles the description of an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles described in a lawsuit filed by Cassie last year.

Commenting on the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, actress Emily Ratajkowski, wrote: “Monster”.

Fellow rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the video, writing sarcastically: “Now I’m sure Puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.”

Jackson also re-posted a screenshot of a statement shared by Combs in December last year, denying allegations against him and accusing those making them of “looking for a quick payday”.

50 Cent wrote: “The lie detector test has determined this was a lie…”

He also shared a statement from LA police which called the footage “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but explained that it happened too long ago to be prosecuted.

California law has a one-year statute of limitations for assault.

The husband of Ventura, Alex Fine, shared a lengthy statement on Instagram titled “Letter to women and children,” calling out men who perpetrate violence against women.

‘Men who hurt women hate women’

He wrote: “Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men…

“Hold the women in your life with the utmost regard. Men who hurt women hate women.”

The personal trainer also shared the number of a domestic abuse helpline, urging those who need help to call.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing Ventura branded Combs’s apology “pathetic,” after he shared a short video on social media on Sunday, saying he was “truly sorry,” and was “disgusted” by his own behaviour.

‘Disingenuous words’

Meredith Firetog, who is a partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement: “Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt.

“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.

“That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”

‘Leave god and mercy out of this’

US singer and reality star Aubrey O’Day, who previously worked with Combs, also hit out at Combs’s apology video, writing on X: “Diddy did not apologize to Cassie. He apologized to the world for seeing what he did… Leave god and mercy out of this, they aren’t present here, and you know it.”

It is the first time Combs has responded directly to allegations of physical and sexual violence levelled at him in recent months.

Multiple claims

In March, his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York.

In April, Combs was named in a lawsuit that alleges his son sexually assaulted a woman working on a yacht chartered by his father.

Ventura, who began dating Combs a few years after meeting him in 2005, and split with him in 2019, sued him in November, alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.

The lawsuit claimed he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The case was settled the day after it was filed.

Combs has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing.

Entertainment

Sienna Miller walks the Cannes red carpet with daughter Marlowe

Published

8 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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Sienna Miller walks the Cannes red carpet with daughter Marlowe

Sienna Miller has walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival with her daughter Marlowe Ottoline Layng Sturridge.

The 42-year-old actress, who was born in the US but brought up in the UK, has been promoting her new film Horizon: An American Saga, directed by Kevin Costner.

Miller – who will appear in this film and its next instalment – plays East Coast settler Frances Kittredge, who moves to the Horizon settlement with her husband and two children.

Miller wore a pale blue floor-length gown, while 12-year-old Marlowe wore a white dress with a large pale pink bow around the waist for her red carpet debut.

Miller gave birth to Marlowe, whose father is The Sandman star Tom Sturridge, 38, in 2012.

She had a second daughter earlier this year with The Crown actor Oli Green, who also attended the premiere.

Miller and Green, 27, met at a Halloween party thrown by a mutual friend and have since moved to London together.

Costner – who not only directs the film but also co-wrote and stars in it too – had plenty of family support on the red carpet.

The 69-year-old Hollywood star brought five of his seven children – Annie, 40, Cayden, 17, Grace, 13, Lily, 37, and Hayes, 15. The latter makes his screen acting debut in the movie.

Horizon: An American Saga spans four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, and is described by the studio behind it, Warner Bros, as an “ambitious cinematic adventure” telling the story of the United States of America “through the lens of families, friends and foes”.

Brace yourself for a three-hour epic – and more to come

The two-part western – of which this is the first chapter – received a 10-minute standing ovation when it premiered on Sunday.

Costner also says he has scripts ready for two further instalments in the story, which would extend the epic to four parts if commissioned.

The Yellowstone star, who first pitched a version of the movie back in 1988, has plenty at stake in the project, and personally financed around $100m for the film and its sequel.

He will be hoping to emulate the success of his 1990 directorial debut Dances With Wolves, which he also starred in and produced. The movie was a box office hit, winning multiple Oscars including best picture and best director.

Horizon: An American Saga runs for over three hours and will come to UK cinemas at the end of June.

It also features Avatar star Sam Worthington, Donnie Darko actress Jena Malone and Owen Wilson’s brother Luke Wilson.

Entertainment

GB News show with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules, Ofcom finds

Published

11 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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GB News show with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules, Ofcom finds

GB News could face punishment after a programme with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules.

Regulator Ofcom said it was considering a “statutory sanction” after finding ‘People’s Forum: The Prime Minister’ breached impartiality guidelines.

GB News called it “an alarming development” that “strikes at the heart of democracy”.

The hour-long show, which aired on 12 February, saw members of the public put questions to the prime minister. However, it received 547 complaints.

Ofcom said in March that five other GB News programmes featuring politicians acting as presenters – including two hosted by Jacob Rees-Mogg – also broke impartiality rules.

The watchdog said the show featuring Mr Sunak was fine in principle, but “due weight” should have been given to an “appropriately wide range of significant views” other than the Tories’.

These should have happened during the programme itself or “in other clearly linked and timely programmes”.

It said Mr Sunak “had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election”.

“We have therefore recorded a breach of rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code against GB News,” it added.

The channel was quick to hit back at the ruling and denied breaking the impartiality rules.

“The regulator’s threat to punish a news organisation with sanctions for enabling people to challenge their own prime minister strikes at the heart of democracy at a time when it could not be more vital,” it said.

“Our live programme gave an independently selected group of undecided voters the freedom to challenge the Prime Minister without interference,” added the channel.

It said neither producers nor the prime minister had seen the questions beforehand and Mr Sunak was kept “under constant pressure and covered a clearly diverse range of topics”.