The 58-year-old actress has worked with Estée Lauder Companies to raise awareness of breast cancer for nearly 30 years and won’t give up her campaigning until a cure is found.
Speaking on UK TV show ‘Loose Women’, she said: “I’ve been in the breast cancer world for 28 years now raising awareness and funds. It never stops being important.
“In the intervening year, I’ve met so many women who have been newly diagnosed. It just seems that it’s sort of…everywhere.
“Women are still dying, it really makes us realise that we have to keep going until that cure is found.
“In America, they say that women should get screened from the age of 40 and from all the research we’ve done it still comes down to being self-aware of your breast.
“I had been checking my breasts often and Evelyn Lauder, our founder, said it was so important that every woman is familiar with their own breasts.”
The ‘Bedazzled’ star went on to add that whilst women may avoid checking because they are scared in case they find a lump, they need to give themselves a “stern talking to” as she remembered her late grandma, who passed away after suffering from cancer in a time when it was not discussed.
She said: “People are busy. People don’t want to find anything.
“But I think people have to give themselves a stern talking to and say ‘Look, one in eight of us will be diagnosed’ and it would be so much better to find it early.
“Some very good doctors that I’ve spoken to recommend that women check their breasts from puberty. It only takes five minutes.
“We all have showers or baths…I hope! And so that is a great time for people to check.
“If you just get taught by a doctor or look online, follow that, you really can take that time in the shower to check.
“My grandma was a classic of that time. She found a lump, they knew nothing about breast cancer. There wasn’t Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She didn’t tell anyone and she died. No one talked about it. “
