Breast cancer touches nearly all of us in one way or another. Just about everyone has a relative, friend or work colleague who has been affected. This includes direct experience among our colleagues here at Altogether Care.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a cause close to our hearts and we want to show solidarity with a worthy and essential campaign. It supports people with breast cancer and their families and helps raise awareness of screening programmes, potential symptoms and the importance of seeking medical help as quickly as possible.
Every Statistic Bears a Human Story
It’s easy to get lost in the numbers. Every day, over 150 people in the UK will receive the devastating news of a breast cancer diagnosis. That’s around 56,000 new cases each year. We never forget that behind the statistics are countless human stories of anxiety, lives turned upside-down, tragedy and, sometimes, triumph.
To put this even further into perspective, according to Breast Cancer UK a woman born after 1960 will have a one in seven lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
Thankfully, mortality rates have decreased by 41% since the 1970s. Yet breast cancer is still the 2nd most common cause of cancer death in women. In 2022 breast cancer was the most common cause of death for women between 35-49 and 50-64 years of age. There’s still plenty to do.
A More Positive Future
The good news is that mortality rates will continue to fall over the next few years. Better scientific knowledge and new treatments will be a factor in this. Fewer avoidable deaths also relies on greater awareness, screening and early intervention.
This is why Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2024 is so valuable. It’s raising funds for research and increasing awareness. We know that the earlier cancer is detected and treated, the better the chance of survival.
So please do this for yourself and those you love: learn how to check your breasts for possible signs of cancer, go for screening when invited, and see your doctor immediately you find anything suspicious.
And if you want to be part of the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign you can sign up and get your fundraising pack here.
Keeping warm in the winter months is vital for your physical health and mental wellbeing. This can seem harder to do when energy bills are at an all-time high. But there are ways to stay warm and comfortable without cranking up the central heating. 
For many people, live-in care offers the best of everything. There are so many benefits of people remaining in their own home, where they are surrounded by a familiar environment, their own possessions and staying in a community where they feel they belong. Choosing Live-in care ensures there’s somebody on hand for companionship and to help out with those tasks they find challenging.
Dementia is increasingly something more people are having to learn how to live with, affecting individuals and caregivers alike. The theme of Alzheimer’s Month 2023 attempts to underline the notion that dementia doesn’t necessarily have to be an inevitable consequence of ageing.
An active social life, physical exercise and a good diet are the building blocks of good mental and physical well-being. Altogether Care puts a lot of emphasis on these factors in all of our care homes, and not just for people receiving specialist dementia care.
Respite care 
In some cases you might get financial help from the council towards the cost of respite care. This depends on the care needs assessment and means testing.
Loneliness is definitely something that many people experience in later life. Perhaps a partner has passed away and other family members live too far away to visit often. Reduced mobility can also make it harder to get out and meet people and socialise.
The Marmalade Trust defines loneliness as a mismatch between the level of social contact we have and the level we’d like to have. There’s a strong personal element as some people need company more than others.
