Emmerdale and breast cancer message.

[Lamelie]

Apologies if this offends anyone- I don’t know the characters so maybe there’s something I’m missing- watching Emmerdale as I granny sit.
Trailed on ITV News then on Emmerdale big check your breasts storyline. But they’re all chugging wine as they discuss the importance of checking your breasts. I assume they got advice and maybe even decided that reduce drinking and check your breasts would dilute the message but really bizarre mixed messaging.

I had breast cancer and am not a big drinker, in fact i didn’t do any of the things that apparently can cause breast cancer, my mcmillan nurse said i was just unlucky, the message to check is important and if this raises awareness then well done emmerdale

So if you drink wine you shouldn't bother checking your breasts?! A lot of people drink wine, or smoke, or eat saturated fat, or ultra processed food. Should they not do any cancer tests? The programme is not there to lecture people: it's giving a bit of advice.

Same.

I’m not saying they should have said don’t drink and check your breasts, but why have all the scenes talking about checking them also with people drinking?

I've had breast cancer and specifically asked about alcohol as I like wine. I was told that it wasn't relevant to my type of cancer. This story is about the BRCA gene and the effects of it. The character runs a pub. People are going to drink.

That scene was to celebrate a characters birthday. They then got on the topic of one of the other characters diagnosis of breast cancer and having the BRCA gene (who happens to co-own the pub). It’s attempting to make awareness of checking your breasts. Personally I particularly welcomed the reference to men and having breast cancer as that is something that is hardly mentioned despite affecting approx 370 men a year. But ultimately surely regardless of the drinking if it encourages just one woman to check then it’s done what it set out to do

Sorry to jump in here, I don't post much, but last week I was at the breast clinic for more tests than I thought, fekin scared me TBH! Just one result to come now as other 2 were clear. I'm not a big drinker but if this test comes back with something then I will probably calm my nerves with a glass of wine and say holy fuck, FUCK!!! Then get the big girl pants on and face it I guess. Xx

It was a group of women chatting and having a drink and getting over the message to check your breasts. The message is still the same. Women drink wine shocker.

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer the consultant told me to go home and pour myself a large glass of wine!

I think anything to encourage women to check their breasts regularly is a good thing.
The characters in this scene were in the pub drinking wine. I can't see how this takes away from the message that was received from the character of Chas who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer .

When I had chemo I was told by the consultant to drink lots afterwards and That at it didn't matter whether it was wine lager or soft drinks/water, basically anything that would stay down whilst fighting the urge to projectile vomit

Because it's a soap not a public health ad

They were celebrating the birthday of a female family member, and one of the family has recently been diagnosed and her mother died of it last year.

Hence the discussion that arose, not all the female family members were there - Charity was elsewhere / working ? and Belle was at home ( surprised she wasn't invited - maybe she was ? )
well Belle is recently married and will soon be kept away from friends as well as family but that story line is fairly recent and is only going to get worse.

I thought it was fairly well covered - age ( as Charity's daughter was there and she's under 18 ? ) and men thus getting the message across that everyone can get breast cancer and should check their breasts.

I’ve had breast cancer and it was caused by my female hormones. Wouldn’t have made a blind bit of difference what lifestyle choices I made. It’s a soap, and checking is good for all women, regardless of other risk factors.
Get off your soapbox.

I haven’t seen it but I dislike storylines that focus on BRCA in Breast cancer stories.

1 in around 300-400 people will have the BRCA gene.

1 in 7 women will develop breast cancer.

An estimated 5-10% of all people diagnosed with breast cancer carry BRCA.

Focusing on BRCA muddies the waters. The message should be ANYONE can develop breast cancer so EVERYONE should be vigilant.

Well why not? 🤷‍♀️

Plenty of people in plenty of cultures drink wine.

And plenty of people get breast cancer whether they drink it or not.

Have you seen how many Dingles there are?!

The character in question has a genetic breast cancer - drinking or not wouldn't change it

And it's a soap showing a social situation, where alcohol is consumed, with a message about checking yourself. Not a PSA on cancer

I realise it’s a soap, not a cancer PSA, but if you’re going to talk about something like cancer, at least get the facts right.

While self-checks are important, they aren’t exactly a replacement for medical screening.

The message should be know your risk. Genetic or familial or average. Know if other risk factors apply. Be screened as medically appropriate for YOUR risk profile.

As a matter of interest, if you have BRCA and are over the age of 30, the current screening recommendation is an annual MRI not just check yourself.

Are any of the characters involved in this plot line over 30 and did they talk about medical screening?

As for the alcohol aspect, it’s not great but they are in a pub!

Apologies if I’m touchy about this subject but I have a recent diagnosis and the amount of poorly researched and scripted TV plot lines out there is getting on my nerves.

I know Liam is a personal friend of a lot of the main characters. But in reality, Chas probably would still be waiting to get a GP appointment. Same for Charity's PTSD treatment. So unrealistic

The point of this storyline is that the recent diagnosis of Chas Dingle (who has triple negative BC), follows the death of her mother who also had BC. Chas was unaware that they carried the BRCA gene and there are a lot of Dingles. She discussed the genetic aspect with her son and brothers and urged them to take part in a screening programme. I imagine she will do the same with the female contingent of the Dingle family. I feel it's been well handled and is useful. I speak as a former BC patient (albeit a different type and not BRCA). It certainly raises awareness of the risk for men too and the potential impact on their sons and daughters.

Liam found the lump as they had sex.

@Laffegiraffe personally I think that checking your own breasts is very important. I found a lump through self checking at pre-standard screening age that turned out to be cancer. How else would it have been noticed?

I think it was appropriate

As they run a pub