‘Urgent need’ for better breast cancer education and screening, survey shows

Some 85% of people report not feeling confident checking their breasts or chest, according to a charity survey carried out as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

And only one in four check their breasts or chest once a month.

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The findings come in a survey carried out by cancer charity Walk the Walk – of 1,160 people in September 2025 – which sought to uncover public attitudes to breast cancer and routine self-checking.

Most respondents (97%) said they believed routine NHS breast screenings should be expanded to be made available to people outside the current age range of 50-70 – a key call of Walk the Walk.

Almost half of people (46%) also said they did not have an understanding of secondary breast cancer.

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With 85% of respondents stating they did not feel confident checking their breasts and only one in four carrying out self-checks every month, the charity said its survey showed the ‘urgent need’ for better education and screening.

Founder and chief executive of Walk the Walk Nina Barough said: ‘These statistics are a wake-up call.

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‘People clearly want greater access to mammograms, especially as so many don’t feel equipped to check their own breasts or chest with confidence.’

The charity, which is best known for its Moon Walk fundraiser, said it wanted to urge everyone, women and men, to ‘make breast and chest checking part of their regular self-care routine’.