Reality TV star Olivia Attwood has said it is “very important” for women and girls to check for breast cancer, saying: “You can’t die out of embarrassment.”
The former Love Island star, 35, has previously spoken about finding “quite a sizeable lump” on her breast in 2020, which was biopsied and found to be benign but was later removed.
In an interview with the Press Association, Attwood has opened up about her own experience as she urges individuals to “look after your health” and hopes to “spread awareness” about how to spot early signs of breast cancer.
Recounting her cancer scare, the star described feeling something “kind of hard” on her breast and said: “I went and saw a breast specialist, and he said there was quite a sizeable lump there.
“He decided that the best thing for me to do was to have it removed and biopsied – luckily, it was benign.”
Attwood added: “No one wants to find a lump. It’s not a nice thing.
“It wasn’t cancerous, it was just that it was just fatty tissue – so everything in my case was fine.”
When asked about what her experience taught her, Attwood told PA: “It’s helped me know what I’m looking for, and how to examine myself properly; I think a lot of women don’t actually know how to do this.”
The former The Only Way Is Essex star explained that the type of cyst she had is “quite common”, and that her mother has similarly had “fatty lumps removed from her breast”.
She said that her mother’s experience helped her to be “vigilant” when checking herself and highlighted the importance of a supportive network that “encourage you to look after your health”.
Attwood offered her advice, and said: “Don’t be fearful, and definitely don’t be embarrassed. People that examine you for a living… They do this all day, every single day.
“You can’t die out of embarrassment.
“You need to get out of your own head and realise that these checks could save your life.”
The star also discussed “the importance of raising awareness” for breast cancer, and has urged young people to “encourage your friends and family to check themselves”.
Attwood has teamed up with Tombola and Breast Cancer Now for a new campaign which sees her advocate for this, having spoken to Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle about the issue on her Olivia’s House podcast.
In the episode, which will be released on Thursday, the pair discuss how young women and girls are often “scared” to check their breasts while Coyle reflected on how her former bandmate Sarah Harding died aged 39 in 2021 because of breast cancer.
Attwood told PA: “There’s loads of really good, tangible, bite-sized bits of information that I hope will resonate with a lot of different people.”
The pair are also encouraging people to check in on their friends and tell them to check their breasts, following new research from Tombola and Breast Cancer Now which found that 38% of women admit to neglecting their health.
Attwood said the campaign “seemed like something that was really good to get involved in”, adding: “The whole takeaway from this is community, friendship, and encouraging your friends to check their breasts.
“Let’s take the embarrassment out of the conversation and encourage your friends and your family members, and the females in your family to check their breasts.”
