Touch Yourself Now!

When it comes to breast cancer awareness, we all know the importance of self-examination. But as busy mums and wives, that 5 minutes to ‘touch yourself’ can be hard to find! Whether you plug a reminder into your phone, or use the first of every month to remind yourself, we women need to find a way to make time at least once a month to do a breast self exam.

It’s been one year since singer Chrissie Amphlett passed away from breast cancer, a form of cancer that affects 1 in 8 Australian women. But with early detection through self-exam, breast cancer has an 89% survival rate. Working with these statistics, a group of singers have banded together to create a beautifully moving montage, that acts as both a tribute to the singer and as a reminder to women to ‘touch themselves’, by collectively singing the Divinyls popular song, “I Touch Myself”.

The awareness video is sung by Olivia Newton-John, Sarah McLeod, Deborah Conway, Connie Mitchell, Suze DeMarchi, Sarah Blasko, Kate Ceberano, Megan Washington, Katie Noonan and Chrissie’s niece Little Pattie, and serves as a short reminder on the importance of self examination. The song has now been labelled ‘an anthem for a new movement’ in self examination awareness.

So put aside a little bit of time tonight, watch the movie and then go and touch yourself. Or let your partner do it! Either way, becoming familiar with how your body feels today will help you notice any significant changes in the future.

For tips on how to do a self exam, visit the Australian Breast Cancer website: http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/testing/types/self_exam/bse_steps