Understanding breast cancer, from every angle
The SMART PINK awareness hub brings together clear, caring and practical information about breast cancer: what it is, how it develops, how it is detected, what the stages mean, the types that exist and the treatments available today. Start wherever you are — every path leads to understanding.
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer begins when cells in the breast start to divide and grow out of control, forming a lump that doctors call a tumour. Not all lumps are cancer, and not all cancers look the same. Thanks to early detection and modern treatments, the outlook for most people is encouraging — knowledge and action genuinely save lives.
- Learn the early warning signs and act quickly
- Understand your personal risk factors
- Discover screening and self-examination
- Find the support and care you need
Watch and learn
Short, reassuring explanations guide you through the essentials of breast health — how to look, how to feel, and when to see a doctor.
Watch, learn, remember
Short, trustworthy videos from established medical and health organisations. Open a card to view it in a dedicated window.
Explore the awareness journey
Six interconnected paths take you from the simplest concepts to the most advanced topics. Follow them in order or jump straight to what matters to you.
Awareness games
Two short, playful games that turn breast-health awareness into something you can feel. Detect the signals worth discussing, bust the myths that confuse us — and leave knowing more than before.
Myths and facts
Tap a card to flip it
Antiperspirants and deodorants cause breast cancer.
⟳No credible study has found a link between deodorants or antiperspirants and breast cancer. The rumour grew out of a chain of unfounded claims about aluminium and lymph nodes.
⟳Wearing a bra — especially an underwired one — raises your risk.
⟳There is no scientific evidence that bras affect the risk of breast cancer. The type, fit or underwire of your bra does not influence the disease.
⟳Breast cancer only affects older women.
⟳Risk rises with age, but breast cancer can strike at any age, including in your twenties and thirties. Young women can and do get breast cancer.
⟳Tap a card to flip it
Frequently asked questions
Honest, plain-language answers to the questions we hear most often.
A screening mammogram checks women without symptoms, to find cancer before it could be felt. A diagnostic mammogram looks at a symptom or a screening finding — it takes more images, zooms in on the area of concern, and is the first step when something needs a closer look.
It means your cancer cells have receptors for oestrogen and/or progesterone, so these hormones can fuel their growth. The good news: it means hormone therapy — a daily tablet that blocks that fuel — is likely to be an effective part of your treatment.
Breast cancer grows slowly enough that a few weeks of careful care planning will not change the outcome. Use the time to get second opinions and to choose your team — rushing is generally not needed. Your team will tell you if your situation calls for acting faster.
Not necessarily. Some chemotherapy regimens cause hair loss, others do not. Your oncologist can tell you what to expect with your drugs — and scalp-cooling caps can reduce loss for some regimens. If it happens, it is temporary.
Questions about your own breast health?
Information is not a substitute for care. If you notice a change, book an appointment. A doctor can tell you what is actually going on.