Joining the athletes of Queens University Belfast’s ladies rugby club, leading supplier of specialist diagnostic equipment Hospital Services Limited (HSL) has announced a sponsorship which will not only see the HSL branding feature on the ladies’ rugby kits, but will also kick off a partnership aimed to raise awareness and encourage early detection of breast cancer among young women.

Meeting at Queens rugby pitches, representatives from HSL and Queens launched the partnership by discussing the prevalence of breast cancer as the leading cancer amongst women aged 0-34 years and the importance of early detection as well as emerging research which indicates that regular exercise can reduce a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer by as much as a third.

“We are proud to be sponsoring Queens ladies as they fly the flag for breast health awareness amongst their peers,”

said Graham Stewart, Commercial & Finance Director, Hospital Services Limited.

“As the supplier of the majority of mammography systems in breast screening clinics across the Island of Ireland, many being the state-of-the-art Hologic 3Dimensions™ system, we understand acutely the importance of reliable and frequent breast screening for early and accurate diagnosis in order to increase treatment success rates.”

A common reason for patients to not attend their mammogram is that they think it is going to be painful. Hologic technologies are designed for both accuracy and efficiency of diagnostics and patient comfort, with curved compression paddles that better fit the shape of the breast and offer a more comfortable mammogram experience for patients. The Hologic technologies are also supported by Artificial Intelligence-based products which provide breast density information to the reporting radiologist and a 3D Quorum range of products which are designed to make reporting easier and improve the time required to complete the patient report.

“We are keen to help young women abolish the stigma that mammograms are painful or embarrassing experiences and encourage regular self-examinations. We are happy to join the ladies rugby players at Queens to help spread the word and encourage women to attend their scheduled mammograms when more advanced screening becomes appropriate.”

Discussing her own personal health experience and her resulting campaign to increase breast health awareness Queens ladies rugby player Megan Stewart said,

“Upon discovery of a lump in my second year, I was faced with the realisation that many young women – including myself – are undereducated when it comes to what to look for, how to perform self-examinations, and who to contact when something seems abnormal. I am lucky that in my case the growth was benign, but this experience has driven me to encourage breast cancer awareness among young women. When I set up my awareness campaign Breast ‘n’ Test, I conducted a survey of university women and was shocked to learn that 92% of students surveyed had never been to or been offered the chance to visit a clinic that teaches cancer awareness. I also discovered that 78% of students do not know how to properly check themselves, meaning that anomalies that could potentially be caught earlier are perhaps going missed. I am delighted that HSL has partnered with the ladies of Queens Rugby Club to promote breast cancer awareness and look forward to their support as I continue my campaign for increased awareness and ultimately reducing the number of young people facing more advanced breast cancer diagnoses.”

“We are delighted to welcome HSL on board at Queens Rugby as one of our main sponsors for our Ladies club,”

added David Chambers, Queens Rugby Development Officer.

“Our club has been progressing over the past few seasons with credit going to a brilliant student committee who run the club so well and a superb coaching team who have created an environment that allows all players from beginners to competitive develop, leading to the new formation of our 2nd XV last season. Queens Ladies have been deserving of this support and we are very grateful that HSL identified them as good ambassadors for their company. We are so looking forward to getting back on the field when the time is right to do so – and undoubtedly will be the best-looking side in Ulster with our newly branded kit.”