The NHS has teamed up with Morrisons to include labels in the supermarket’s underwear range urging customers to contact their GP if they spot potential symptoms of breast or testicular cancer.
Labels in the supermarket’s Nutmeg brand will offer advice on what to look for.
It is the first time the NHS has worked with a supermarket brand to put health messaging on clothing, which it hopes will make people more aware of their bodies.
The aim is for shoppers to consider the labels’ advice and detect new or unexplained changes to their bodies that could be indications of early signs of cancer.
The advice will initially be on labels in boxer shorts and crop-top bras, while packaging will contain a QR code linking to the NHS website for more detailed information.
The garments featuring NHS advice will be available in 240 Morrisons stores across England in the coming months.
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Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK with around one in seven women diagnosed with it in their lifetime – and in rarer instances men too – with recovery more likely if symptoms are discovered at an early stage.
Around 2,400 cases of testicular cancer are recorded every year in the UK with high survival rates in recent years, again with early detection a key contributory factor.
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NHS England’s national director for cancer, Dame Cally Palmer, said: “Cancer survival is at an all-time high – survival for both breast and testicular cancers have improved significantly over the last 50 years and we’re seeing more people than ever before diagnosed at an early stage.
“This partnership with Morrisons is just one of the many ways we are ensuring people are aware of potential cancer symptoms.
“I want to urge everyone to be aware of their own bodies – please look out for lumps and bumps or anything else that is unusual for you – and get checked out early, it could save your life.”
