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The Need

CoppaFeel! are the UK’s only youth focused breast cancer awareness charity, and we’re on a mission to get every 18-24 year old checking their chest. We educate people on the signs of breast cancer and encourage them to check their chests monthly, so that if they notice something unusual they are empowered to contact their GP and advocate for themselves. 

We do this because we know that young people aren’t routinely educated about breast cancer, leading to low levels of awareness and chest checking, meaning they are more at risk of being diagnosed late. We want to change this because when diagnosed early, breast cancer treatments are more effective and survival rates are higher. Early detection can save lives.

Our Ultimate Goal 

We want to ensure all breast cancers in young people are diagnosed early and accurately

CoppaFeel! is here to educate all 18-24 year olds people, but we recognise there is an additional need to reach young people who are underrepresented , face additional health inequities,  and are more likely to be diagnosed late.. As a result we have identified young Black, South Asian, Jewish and pregnant people as our priority audiences.

The Facts

In the UK…

The Picture for Young People

18-24 year olds in the UK

Our Initiatives 

Our 2025-2027 strategy focuses on 3 initiatives:

Educate

Raise awareness, understanding and relevance of breast cancer so all 18-24 year olds know how to check and do it regularly.

To do this we will:

  • Raise awareness of the CoppaFeel! brand amongst 18-24s
  • Encourage positive behaviour change and regular chest checking behaviours through education on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.
  • Close the gap in awareness and relevancy of breast cancer for young Black, South Asian or Jewish people and those who are pregnant.
  • Ensure our activities are always rooted in behaviour change science to ensure they have the desired impact
  • Adopt a targeted approach to raise awareness. Focussing on regions that over-index on 18-24 year olds, and marginalised young people.

Goal: Demonstrate increased levels of relevance, awareness, knowledge, confidence and chest checking for 18-24s across the UK

“I didn’t think breast cancer could happen when I was only 24. To all other young people, checking your chest really can save your life”
- Brodie, diagnosed at age 24
an image of brodie

Encourage

Drive confidence in 18-24 year olds noticing a change in their chest and advocating for their health by visiting their GP if they are worried about a sign of breast cancer.

To do this we will:

  • We will become a trusted source of information to support young people to advocate for their health and navigate the healthcare system.
  • We will expand our health information and resources to provide practical support.
  • We will continue to explore how our activities can build confidence as well as increase knowledge.
  • We will work with young Black, South Asian, Jewish and pregnant people, to ensure the solutions we offer are informed by lived experience and user voice.

Goal: Demonstrate increased confidence in 18-24 year olds noticing a change in their chest and advocating for their health.

“I always think how lucky I was to have felt confident enough to advocate for myself and speak up when I felt something was wrong.”
- Anisa, diagnosed at 22
an image of Anisa

Empower

Help the NHS and GPs better understand young people’s risk of breast cancer and the importance of quickly referring them for further checks when needed

To do this we will:

  • Increase our reach and engagement with key healthcare professionals to improve their knowledge of breast cancer in young people.
  • We will specifically target GPs, Midwives and Practice Nurses to increase their likelihood to encourage young people to self-check once a month and develop breast awareness.
  • We will have developed an influencing strategy that enables young people to have a voice at the table when it comes to discussing and improving early diagnosis of breast cancer in the UK.

Goal: Increased engagement and reach amongst GPs and key healthcare professionals who feel confident to encourage young people to self-check once a month and develop breast awareness.

” Improved my knowledge and how to approach the subject with the young generations. I used these resources to help me target my younger service users to make them aware of the importance of checking their own breast tissue.”
- Practice Nurse

Our Enablers

We recognise CoppaFeel! must continue to evolve in order to deliver the change we want to see. That’s why we have identified 3 enablers that will help us achieve our goals:

  • Youth Informed

We will be insight and impact driven. Involving young people, who reflect the communities we’re speaking to, in everything we do

  • Responsive 

We will make our finances more sustainable by finding new ways to make money and expanding the sources of income we already have.

  • Transformative

We will continue to transform our team, culture and infrastructure so they become more inclusive and effective at delivering our strategy.

“I discovered CoppaFeel! last year and started following you. Towards the end of the year I remembered your text so gave myself a check a short while later... I found a lump and was diagnosed with breast cancer. I've had 6 months of chemo and surgery and I'm now cancer free! Thank-you for all you do ❤️🙌👏 xx”
- Young person
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