Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has teamed up with Gemma Ainger to launch a new app called My Breast Friend.
The app’s mission is to help people check in with their bodies. Simple, supportive and completely free, the app sends a monthly reminder to perform a self-check and allows users to log all changes quickly and privately. The tone is warm, positive and free of stigma – checking your breasts, breasts or breasts shouldn’t feel scary or clinical.
My Breast Friend was created by Gemma Ainger, a marketer from Guernsey who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 42, after she noticed something unusual in the shower, although she rarely checked herself, felt healthy and had no family history.
Weeks later, Gemma was diagnosed with stage 3 invasive breast cancer which had already spread to her lymph nodes. During her surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and in remission, she put whatever energy she had into creating something that could make a real difference and positively impact many lives.
In Gemma’s experience, if she checked regularly she might have been able to catch it earlier – trying to prevent others from being in a similar situation was one of her main motivations when creating the app. My Breast Friend has been designed to make monthly self-checks quick, easy and completely normal, create positive reinforcement around breast health and embed a really important routine.
The app has been launched in partnership with breast cancer survivor Amy Dowden MBE, star of BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing. From her own diagnosis, Amy knows the importance of early breast cancer detection and has since used her public platform to promote this message.
Speaking about the app, Amy said: “When Gemma told me about her plans for My Breast Friend, it was exactly what I’d been looking for – something simple and positive people could do to remind them to check each month, know their bodies and act early. I immediately wanted to work with her to make the app as good as possible and reach as many people as possible. I know how important it is to check breast cancer and if you don’t catch it early. breast who is it? does it matter how old you are? There is no reason not to download this app, it could literally save your life.”
“It’s not about fear or cancer,” adds Gemma. “It’s about self-care, awareness and confidence. We should all know what’s normal for our own bodies and we should all proactively take care of ourselves – it’s one of the easiest ways we can protect our health.
“I’m so excited to have Amy join me in the launch of My Breast Friend! Her breast cancer journey is similar to mine, and through first-hand experience coupled with so much enthusiasm and drive for breast health awareness, I truly believe that together we can make a huge difference. We’re on a mission to make self-checks normal by turning My Breast Friend into a lifelong reminder!”
The app was built with medical input from leading breast specialists, legal guidance from Appleby Global Law Firm and the technical expertise of digital agency Indulge Media, ensuring it is medically responsible, empowering and safe to use.
With 1 in 7 women likely to develop breast cancer in their lifetime and almost half of women in the UK admitting they don’t check regularly, My Breast Friend wants to make self-exams as routine as brushing your teeth.
Gemma’s long-term aim is to bring My Breast Friend into schools, universities and workplaces, and to partner with health and lifestyle brands that share the same message – early detection saves lives. The app will also use anonymized data to track awareness trends and measure whether more people are checking regularly.
“Not all breast cancer can be detected from a self-examination, but wouldn’t you prefer to be in a position to know what’s normal and act quickly? I see this as a superpower we should all have. From our twenties, if more people get into the habit of checking over their lifetime, we can catch more cases early, resulting in better and more positive outcomes,” says Gemma. “That’s what this is all about — being proactive about breast health and feeling confident about spotting changes.”
My Breast Friend is available to download now on the App Store and Google Play. Check out the official website and pages for more information.
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