Cancer awareness now ‘more vital than it’s ever been’

Actress, model, businesswoman and philanthropist, Elizabeth Hurley, told CNBC that the Covid-19 pandemic has been an “incredibly challenging” time for cancer patients.

“I think because of the pandemic, because of the last 18 months, it’s been very hard for some of us to think about any health issues apart from Covid, obviously. We’ve all been worried about getting vaccines, we’ve all been worried about keeping our loved ones safe, some of us have lost people, it’s been a really challenging time for everyone,” Hurley said.

“But it’s been an incredibly challenging time for people who’ve been diagnosed with cancer or for people who are worried about their own health and would like to be checked for cancer-related illnesses. So, if anything, this World Cancer Day this year in 2022 is more vital than it’s ever been.”

Hurley was speaking to “CNBC Meets” in her role as global ambassador for The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Campaign, ahead of World Cancer Day on Feb. 4.

She told CNBC that raising awareness of self-checking your breasts, and breast health in general was crucial. Both women and men can be diagnosed with breast cancer which has now overtaken lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world.

The star of movies and TV shows including “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” “Gossip Girl,” “The Royals” and Marvel’s “Runaways” has been helping to raise funds and awareness for the campaign since 1995. She said that the campaign had resonated with her personally after losing her grandmother to breast cancer.

“She found a lump herself, like many women do. She was too scared and too embarrassed to tell her doctor for some time, more than a year, and by that time the cancer had spread, and in spite of a mastectomy, it had spread to her liver and it was too late to save my grandmother,” she said.

“So, part of our messaging has always been ‘early detection saves lives.’ We know that if breast cancer is caught early there’s an extremely strong chance of survival, but the key words are catching it early.”

Hurley said checking your breasts regularly was “absolutely vital”. “Checking them once a month so that you know how your breasts feel, so that if you notice a difference you can go to your doctor and talk to him or her about that and then if there is something wrong it’ll be found early,” she said.

October this year will mark the 30th anniversary since the late Evelyn H. Lauder co-created the now globally recognized pink ribbon symbol for breast cancer and founded the campaign with its mission “to create a breast cancer-free world for all.”

The Breast Cancer Campaign and The Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation have since provided over $108 million toward “global research, education and medical services.”

Lauder also founded the non-profit Breast Cancer Research Foundation in 1993. Hurley said that she had seen vast…