Leading convenience retailers SuperValu and Centra are once again joining forces with long-term charity partner Action Cancer to deliver life-saving breast screening appointments across Northern Ireland, as the annual Sponsor a Mammogram campaign returns Monday 13 October.
Coinciding with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the initiative challenges every SuperValu and Centra store to raise a minimum of £120 – the cost for Action Cancer to provide one free mammogram to women aged 40–49 and 70+, who fall outside the NHS screening age range.
In 2024, Action Cancer screened 1,768 women on board its mobile detection unit, the Big Bus, with 12 women receiving a breast cancer diagnosis and beginning treatment thanks to early detection.
From Monday 13th to Sunday 19th October, staff at SuperValu and Centra stores across Northern Ireland will be collecting donations in-store, with customers able to contribute via bucket collections or at the tills using cash or card.
Action Cancer Ambassador and mum of two Victoria Stewart from Ballymoney was diagnosed following a screening on the Big Bus in Stranocum in February 2024. Victoria shared: “I believe Action Cancer saved my life. My breast cancer was detected when I was 47 years old at an early and treatable stage. Following a lumpectomy and nine sessions of radiotherapy, I am now cancer free and doing well.
“I had no lumps or bumps, or cause for concern. It would have been at least three years, before I would have been called by the NHS screening programme for women aged 50+. By then I may have been facing a very different outcome. Women in their 40s are privileged to be able to access this free service in NI and I am so grateful for the Big Bus in bringing its life-saving services to my local community.
“Please get involved and support the Sponsor a Mammogram campaign, your support could make all the difference to a local woman; a wife, a mother, a daughter, just like me.”
Carol Marshall, Brand Communications Manager for SuperValu and Centra, added: “Thanks to our incredible retailers, colleagues and customers, we’ve raised a landmark £4 million for Action Cancer since our partnership started, to keep the Big Bus on the road. This year’s campaign features real women whose lives were changed by early detection. We encourage everyone to support this vital cause and help save the life of a mum, sister, daughter, aunt, wife or friend.”
Lucy McCusker, Corporate Fundraising Manager at Action Cancer, said: “We’re thrilled to have SuperValu and Centra’s continued support. Every penny raised helps us provide free screenings that offer reassurance – or potentially life-saving diagnoses – to women across Northern Ireland.”
