The ‘Snakes and Ladders’ of attending breast screening

A new interactive game board is touring South Yorkshire helping to dispel some of the myths around breast cancer screening.

The life-sized board has been out with Weston Park Hospital Charity’s Big Purple Bus and has featured at numerous events with breast screening teams across the region.

The tour is encouraging people to share their own experiences and helping to raise awareness about regular checking and attendance at appointments. 

The game has already been used by staff on the Purple Bus and at a menopause event held by Rotherham Hospital’s breast screening team. It’s also made an appearance at a Macmillan bake sale and a branch of Tesco in Rotherham.

The tour is showing how charities, researchers, and NHS services are coming together this Breast Cancer Awareness Month to make conversations about breast screening more open, inclusive, and community-led.

Emily Lunn from York Medical School, which developed the game, said the aim was to start a conversation.

“There are many challenges people face when thinking about attending breast screening.

“For some it’s not as easy as just turning up for their mammogram as there can be various factors why they’re reluctant. We want everyone to feel comfortable about talking openly about breast screening.”

The game can be loaned out to groups for awareness events and training across the region.