Flux Communications

Flux Communications Flux Communications is a hands-on publicity agency specialising in media coverage across all mediums for their clients.

Flux Communications is in the business of publicity. No, publicity is not advertising, or web design, or brochures or promo girls; or my personal favourite…..publishing books. Publicity is the careful art of placing a company’s information, key spokespeople or key messages into the public sphere in the very credible form of media editorials, ie, articles in newspapers, magazines, internet and blog sites, social media and radio and television interviews to mention a few. Of all the various communication channels, one of the most valuable and powerful vehicles is that of publicity. Publicity can generate awareness and interest around your company and raise the profile of your offering to your desired target market. No campaign can be successful without a comprehensive marketing mix that includes a well thought out strategic publicity campaign.

Issued on behalf of Surf Expo AfricaSurf Expo Africa returns to Cape Town bigger and broaderFrom ocean conservation and ...
14/10/2026

Issued on behalf of Surf Expo Africa

Surf Expo Africa returns to Cape Town bigger and broader

From ocean conservation and marine science to swimming, skating, fashion, live music and family activities, Surf Expo Africa is inviting South Africans to experience the ocean from every angle.

There is a good chance that when you hear the words Surf Expo, surfing is the first thing that comes to mind. But as Surf Expo Africa returns to the Mother City from 6 to 8 November, organisers are keen to make one thing clear: you don’t have to be a surfer to find something worth exploring.
Africa’s first all-ocean sport and beach lifestyle trade show and expo is returning for its second edition, with organisers aiming to more than double last year’s attendance, while growing the exhibition from 50 exhibitors in 2025 to 70 this year, bringing together an even broader mix of brands, businesses, makers and organisations connected to the ocean and outdoor lifestyle.
Rather than reinventing the event, organisers are sticking with the format that worked for its inaugural show and expanding what happens within it.
“There's no point in messing with a winning strategy,” says co-founder and organiser Jason Cu***ng. “We saw how much people enjoyed the first event, so this year we’ve kept the format but grown the offering. We want more people to experience it and discover just how much there is beyond surfing.”
And there will be plenty to discover. The 2026 speaker line-up brings together 25 local and international voices from across the ocean and recreational blue economy, including Zandile Ndhlovu of the Black Mermaid Foundation, Dr Sara Andreotti of SharkSafe Barriers, Talitha Noble-Trull of Two Oceans Aquarium, Ant Stott of The Litterboom Project and Steve “Spike” Pike of Wavescape. Their collective experience spans ocean conservation, marine science, environmental action, inclusion, surf culture, photography, entrepreneurship and the business of the ocean lifestyle.
For visitors, however, the experience goes well beyond talks. There will be live product demonstrations, brand activations, swimwear fashion shows, live music and hands-on activities and challenges for both children and adults. Skateboarding areas will add to the action, while one of the more unusual attractions will be found in the shaping bay, where Safari Surfboards legend, Spider Murphy, will be shaping live for visitors to watch. It is the kind of experience that gives visitors a chance to see not just the finished product, but the skill and people behind it.
That idea of meeting the makers is central to Surf Expo Africa. With 70 exhibitors this year, visitors will be able to discover products and brands from South Africa and abroad, while meeting the entrepreneurs, innovators and small-business owners helping to shape South Africa’s recreational blue economy.
For families, there is plenty to keep younger visitors occupied too, with hands-on activities and challenges and children under 12 admitted free.
“Surf Expo Africa is about bringing the whole ocean community together,” says Cu***ng. “You might arrive because you surf, but you could leave having discovered open-water swimming, a new outdoor activity, a conservation project, an innovative product or a business you didn't know existed.”
Surf Expo Africa takes place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 6 to 8 November 2026. A range of ticket options is available, including one-day and multi-day passes, family and pensioner tickets, while children under 12 enter free.
Tickets are available on Howler https://www.howler.co.za/events/surf-expo-africa-2026-2fdd or through the Surf Expo Africa website - https://surfexpoafrica.com/
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Issued on behalf of Unu HealthSometimes Mental Health Support Starts With Simply Listening This World Mental Health Day,...
12/10/2026

Issued on behalf of Unu Health

Sometimes Mental Health Support Starts With Simply Listening

This World Mental Health Day, the focus is shifting from talking about mental health to listening to the people living it. When someone tells us they are struggling, our instinct is often to find an answer. We offer advice, reassurance or solutions. Sometimes, however, what a person needs most is not to be fixed, but to be heard. For South Africa, where access to mental healthcare remains a significant challenge, listening can be more than an act of kindness. It can be a starting point for support.

The South African Medical Research Council’s Mental Health Investment Case estimates that more than 90% of people who need mental healthcare do not currently receive it . The same research points towards strengthening mental healthcare at primary and community level as part of the solution.

“Community is an important part of mental health support because not every difficult moment starts with knowing exactly what is wrong or knowing who to turn to,” says Luvuyo Maloka from digital health platform, Unu Health. “Feeling unheard, ignored, dismissed, or invalidated over a long period can contribute to mental health challenges. Sometimes, the first step is simply being able to say, ‘I’m not okay’, and having someone willing to listen without immediately trying to solve the problem.”
That can be harder than it sounds. Asking for help requires vulnerability, and many people may not know how to begin the conversation. It can help to take away the pressure to have the right words. Saying “I don't really know what I need, but I haven't been feeling like myself” or “Can I talk to you about something?” can be enough to open the door.

The same applies to checking in with ourselves. A person does not necessarily need to wait until they reach crisis point to pause and ask how they are actually doing. Digital health platforms increasingly offer tools that allow people to conduct simple mental health check-ins and better understand what they may be experiencing. Unu Health, for example, offers a short depression and anxiety screening questionnaire that provides an indication of the severity of depressive and anxious symptoms and points users towards appropriate next steps. It is a screening tool, not a diagnosis, but it can help turn an indistinct feeling into something that can be acknowledged and acted upon.

“Knowing where you are is valuable,” says Maloka. “It can give you the confidence to take the next step, whether that means speaking to someone you trust, seeking professional advice or simply recognising that something needs attention.”

Perhaps that is where listening needs to begin: not with an answer, but with curiosity. Listen when someone says they are struggling. Listen without judgement. Ask what they need rather than assuming you know. And if you are the one struggling, give yourself permission to say so — even if you cannot yet explain why. Mental health support does not always begin with a treatment plan. Sometimes it begins with a question, a conversation and someone who is prepared to stay and listen.
To take Unu Health’s screening tests, visit https://unuhealth.org/mental-health-questionnaires/depression/screening and https://www.unuhealth.org/mental-health-questionnaires/anxiety/questionnaire
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Issued on behalf of Breadline AfricaWhat if being good at school did not have to mean being good at a book?On the West C...
12/10/2026

Issued on behalf of Breadline Africa

What if being good at school did not have to mean being good at a book?

On the West Coast, there is a school quietly challenging one of our most deeply held ideas about education: that success is measured by how well a young person performs in a classroom. At Weskus School of Skills in Saldanha Bay, learners are finding their strengths in very different ways. Some are learning hospitality. Others are working with their hands in agriculture, manufacturing, boat building and a range of practical skills. Over four years, they develop the practical and life skills they need to move from school into the world of work.
There are 14 different vocational areas in which they can discover what they are good at. For learners who have struggled to find their place in a traditional academic environment, this is not a place to be parked until they leave school. It is another chance to discover their strengths and find a pathway towards work. According to principal Delmarie Engelbrecht, around 98% of learners complete the full four-year programme.
In fact, it raises a much bigger question: What if education was not about making every learner fit the same mould, but about helping each young person find where they can be brilliant?
The deputy principal tells the story of a former learner who went on to become a successful boat builder. The learner once told the school that he now paid someone to read and write for him - because it meant he could spend his time doing what he was genuinely good at. It is difficult to think of a better reminder that academic ability is only one way of measuring potential.
At the end of the four-year programme, learners identify three workplaces where they would like to work, in order of preference. The goal is to help them move into real opportunities - and that means giving them access to training environments that reflect the world they are preparing to enter.
And the pathway appears to be working. At least 70% of Weskus School of Skills learners go on to find employment, with graduates working at businesses including Checkers, Pick ‘n Pay, Steers, Wimpy and local coffee shops. The school keeps track of where its former learners go, with many finding work across Saldanha, Vredenburg, Langebaan, Velddrif and the wider West Coast.
Breadline Africa was approached to help refurbish the school's existing training kitchen, with funding from Umoya Energy, part of the Anthem Group, an independent power producer with operations along the West Coast.
The upgraded, industry-standard kitchen was officially launched on 8 October. It can accommodate up to 25 learners at a time, giving those interested in hospitality the chance to train in an environment that more closely reflects the industry they hope to enter.
“This project aligns with Umoya’s Socio-Economic Development Strategy. Hospitality has always been offered at Weskus School of Skills – we didn’t introduce a new skill, we upgraded the space where it taught to industry standards. It’s about dignity, quality and making our learners truly job-ready,” says Amber Zeeman, Umoya Energy Social Performance Practitioner.
For principal Delmarie Engelbrecht, the value of the new kitchen goes well beyond learning to prepare a meal. “My greatest hope is that our learners will gain far more than culinary skills. While they will learn how to prepare and serve a meal, they will also develop the confidence, values and work ethic needed for life and for successful careers in the hospitality industry. Our goal is to equip them to be the very best versions of themselves beyond the classroom.”
The kitchen gives learners what Delmarie describes as “a professional stage” on which to practise their skills, gain confidence and prepare for the hospitality industry.
There are around 500 learners at Weskus, with about half living at the school. Eleven buses travel across the West Coast to bring learners from surrounding communities to the campus. For many families, this is an opportunity to access vocational education without having to leave the region.
Weskus offers a different way of thinking about school success. It recognises that young people have different strengths and that a practical skill can be just as important a starting point for a future as academic achievement. Because perhaps every child does not need the same path to a future. Perhaps they just need someone to help them find theirs.
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Issued on behalf of The ICHAF Training InstituteNot Every Bad Day Is a Mental Health CrisisHave we become so obsessed wi...
08/10/2026

Issued on behalf of The ICHAF Training Institute

Not Every Bad Day Is a Mental Health Crisis

Have we become so obsessed with protecting people's feelings that we are forgetting to teach them how to cope with life?

By Devan Moonsamy

I am going to say something that may make some people uncomfortable: we are becoming too soft.
Not because mental health isn't real. Depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, burnout and other psychological conditions are very real and should be taken seriously. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that more than one billion people globally live with a mental-health condition. But somewhere between finally learning to talk openly about mental health and trying desperately not to invalidate anyone's feelings, we seem to have lost the ability to distinguish between mental illness and ordinary human discomfort.
Today, almost everything has acquired a psychological label. A difficult manager is “toxic”. An argument is “trauma”. Someone who disagrees with us is “gaslighting”. Nervousness is “anxiety”. Criticism becomes “bullying”. A selfish partner is a “narcissist”. A demanding week becomes a threat to our “mental wellbeing”.
Sometimes those descriptions are absolutely justified. But sometimes they aren't. Not every unpleasant experience is a mental-health crisis. Sometimes life is simply uncomfortable — and discomfort is not a disease.
One of the greatest achievements of modern mental-health advocacy has been teaching people that their feelings matter. But “your feelings matter” cannot become “your feelings must always be accommodated”. You are entitled to feel offended; that doesn't automatically mean someone harmed you. You can feel anxious without being unsafe. You can dislike criticism without the criticism being abusive. You can feel overwhelmed without everyone around you being responsible for removing the source of that discomfort.
Perhaps most concerning is how freely we now use clinical terminology. Researchers have even described a phenomenon called “concept creep” — where psychological and harm-related concepts gradually expand to include a much wider range of experiences than they historically did. Researchers have also raised concerns about the growing use of mental-health terminology and self-diagnosis on social media, particularly among younger people.
These conditions are real. They have clinical meaning. When every unpleasant person becomes a narcissist and every difficult experience becomes trauma, we don't strengthen mental-health awareness — we risk trivialising the experiences of people living with genuine mental illness.
I see another version of this problem increasingly entering the workplace. Employers absolutely have responsibilities. Bullying, harassment and discrimination should never be tolerated, and genuinely psychologically unsafe workplaces can cause enormous harm. The World Health Organization itself recognises excessive workloads, discrimination, job insecurity, bullying and other poor working conditions as risks to mental health. But psychological safety does not mean psychological comfort.
Work involves pressure. There are deadlines, targets and difficult customers. Your manager may tell you that your work isn't good enough. Someone else may get the promotion. Your idea may be rejected. Your performance may be questioned. You may fail. None of that feels good. But an organisation cannot function if every uncomfortable conversation becomes a mental-health event.
Compassion and accountability are not opposites. A person can be struggling psychologically and still have responsibilities. A manager can care about an employee's wellbeing while also saying: “Your performance is not acceptable.” Mental health must never become a get-out-of-accountability-free card.
The same concern applies beyond workplaces. Parents understandably want to protect their children. Schools want children to feel safe. Universities want students supported. Employers want staff to feel valued. These are good intentions. But we need to ask whether protection from harm is slowly becoming protection from discomfort.
Resilience research has long recognised that coping with adversity and adapting to challenges are important parts of psychological development. A child who never experiences disappointment doesn't learn how to manage disappointment. A young person constantly rescued from consequences doesn't magically acquire resilience at 25. An employee who experiences every criticism as a personal attack will struggle in almost any demanding career.
We spend enormous amounts of time asking people, “How does this make you feel?” Perhaps we also need to start asking, “What are you going to do about it?”
And here is another uncomfortable truth: your employer is not responsible for your happiness. Your employer should provide a workplace free from harassment and discrimination, treat you fairly, protect your health and safety and provide reasonable support. But no employer can guarantee that you will never feel stressed, disappointed, frustrated or challenged.
Sometimes work is stressful because an organisation is dysfunctional. Sometimes work is stressful because work is difficult. Emotional maturity requires us to recognise the difference.
For generations we made the opposite mistake. People with depression were told to “get over it”. Men were told not to cry. Burnout was dismissed as weakness. Trauma was ignored. We should never return to that world. But correcting one extreme does not require creating another.
The answer isn't less compassion. It is better psychological literacy and greater resilience. We need to recognise when someone needs professional help, accommodation, rest or protection — but also when someone needs perspective, accountability or simply to accept that life hasn't gone their way.
Good mental health cannot mean feeling good all the time. Human beings need the capacity to experience disappointment, rejection, criticism, anxiety and failure without assuming every painful emotion means something is psychologically wrong.
Not every bad day is a mental-health crisis. Sometimes your boss isn't toxic. Sometimes the feedback isn't bullying. Sometimes the deadline isn't unreasonable. Sometimes the other person isn't a narcissist. Sometimes you were wrong.
And sometimes the thing that needs to change isn't your workplace, your family, society or the world around you.
Sometimes, it is you.
Perhaps being able to hear that without falling apart is part of good mental health too.
References
1. World Health Organization (2025). Over a billion people living with mental health conditions – services require urgent scale-up.
2. World Health Organization. Mental health at work.
3. Haslam, N. (2016). Concept Creep: Psychology's Expanding Concepts of Harm and Pathology. Psychological Inquiry, 27(1), 1–17.
4. American Psychological Association. Research and guidance on resilience and adapting to adversity.
5. U.S. Surgeon General. Social Media and Youth Mental Health Advisory — evidence and concerns regarding young people's exposure to health and mental-health information through social media.

Issued on behalf of On the VergeNoordhoek Open Gardens: Opening gates, growing communityThere is something rather specia...
07/10/2026

Issued on behalf of On the Verge

Noordhoek Open Gardens: Opening gates, growing community

There is something rather special about being invited through the garden gate of a stranger.
On 17 and 18 October 2026, from 10am to 5pm, 16 private residential gardens across Noordhoek will open their gates to the public for the 12th annual Noordhoek Open Gardens – offering visitors the chance to discover beautiful, uniquely personal spaces while supporting a cause that lies at the heart of the Noordhoek community.
Every garden reflects the personality and style of its owners, with hidden corners and unexpected delights waiting to be discovered. A map and brochure will guide visitors between the gardens, allowing them to drive between locations and create their own garden-hopping adventure.
But this much-loved annual event is about far more than gardens.
All proceeds from Noordhoek Open Gardens are donated to On the Verge, the community-led greening and gardening project that has been caring for Noordhoek for more than 15 years.
On the Verge creates and maintains roadside gardens, plants trees, clears invasive vegetation and maintains pathways and greenbelts for the community to enjoy. Importantly, its work also creates regular employment, training and skills-development opportunities for the men who work in its gardens.
“On the Verge is about so much more than keeping Noordhoek beautiful,” says Kathy Fish, spokesperson for On the Verge. “It is about caring for the spaces that belong to all of us, while creating meaningful employment and opportunities within our community.”
With the cost of plants, equipment and maintenance continuing to rise, fundraising has become increasingly important. Open Gardens is one of On the Verge’s key annual fundraisers, helping ensure the organisation can continue its work throughout the valley.
The organisation also runs its volunteer “Mad Hackers Society”, which meets monthly to tackle invasive alien vegetation in the surrounding mountains, alongside other fundraising initiatives during the year.
Tickets will be available for purchase before the event, with tickets also available at the gardens on the day. Local Scouts and Girl Guides will assist with ticket sales over the weekend.
For garden lovers, it is a chance to find inspiration. For families and friends, it is an opportunity to enjoy a beautiful weekend outdoors. And for Noordhoek, it is another wonderful example of what can happen when a community comes together.
Because ultimately, Noordhoek Open Gardens is about more than opening garden gates.
It is about opening hearts, supporting neighbours and keeping Noordhoek green, beautiful and welcoming – one garden, one verge and one community at a time.
To book your ticket visit https://www.quicket.co.za/events/395794-noordhoek-open-gardens-2026 #/
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Issued on behalf of Breadline AfricaReady for the first day of big schoolAs families begin looking towards the 2027 scho...
05/10/2026

Issued on behalf of Breadline Africa

Ready for the first day of big school

As families begin looking towards the 2027 school year, thousands of young children are preparing for an important new beginning. Safe early learning spaces and committed practitioners are helping to ensure that they arrive ready to take their next step.
For a young child, starting Grade 1 is a big moment. There is a new uniform to wear, a teacher to meet and a much bigger school to navigate.
Yet school readiness begins long before that first morning.
It grows in the familiar rhythm of an early learning programme. It is there when children listen to a story, learn to follow a routine, discover that they can complete a task for themselves and begin to make sense of the world around them. It develops as they play alongside other children and express what they need.
For 38 children at ATKV-AbbAsorg Educare in Cloetesville, Stellenbosch, these early experiences are taking place in a purpose-built centre on the grounds of the local primary school. When the time comes, some of them will make the short journey from their pre-school classrooms to Grade 1 next door.
The centre began in a very different way. Its founder, Johanna Vermaak, ran the pre-school from a rented church hall. Every Friday afternoon, the toys and small chairs had to be packed away and the children’s work taken down from the walls so that the hall could be used on Sunday. On Monday morning, everything had to be put back.
As enrolment grew, the arrangement became increasingly difficult. The children needed a place designed around their learning and care.
Today, ATKV-AbbAsorg has three classrooms, a kitchen, safe outdoor play space, an office and a sickbay. It also has appropriate toilets for young children. Breadline Africa’s assessment of the centre found that it met 98% of 22 measures of programme quality.
For principal Danielle Afrika, the real value of that progress can be seen in the children themselves.
“One of the greatest joys for us as educators is seeing our children leave us confident and ready for primary school,” she says. “We often hear from parents and primary school teachers that our children arrive ready to learn and able to settle into the routines of primary school.”
Their experience reflects something important about early childhood development in South Africa. The Thrive by Five Index found that 42% of four-year-olds attending an early learning programme were developmentally on track for their age, compared with 18% of children in its non-enrolled sample.
Access to an early learning programme does not, by itself, guarantee that a child will be ready for school. The quality of the programme matters. So do the knowledge and commitment of its practitioners.
But none of this can happen as it should without an appropriate place in which children can learn.
A safe classroom gives practitioners the space to establish routines and arrange activities around children’s developmental needs. Suitable toilets allow young children to manage an essential part of the day with dignity. A functional kitchen helps a centre provide meals, while an outdoor area creates opportunities for active play.
Appropriate infrastructure can also help early learning centres work towards registration and access government subsidies, strengthening their ability to serve children over time.
This is the role Breadline Africa has been working to fulfil since 1993. The organisation provides educational infrastructure, including classrooms, kitchens and safe sanitation facilities, so that children and their teachers have appropriate environments in which learning can take place.
Breadline Africa does not run the early learning programmes. Its work creates the physical conditions that allow practitioners and specialist partner organisations to do theirs.
The organisation’s own monitoring has reinforced the importance of bringing these different contributions together. Its 2025 Impact Report found an average learning programme quality assessment score of 74% among participating sites following the provision of infrastructure and partner support. Six of the 11 centres assessed fell within the high-quality band.
“When donors support an early learning infrastructure project, they are helping to create a place in which childhood can unfold as it should,” says Breadline Africa CEO Marion Wagner. “The building is not the learning programme, but it gives committed practitioners and partners the environment they need to help children develop. As the new school year approaches, that is what gives us hope: children are preparing to take their next step with stronger foundations beneath them.”
During 2025, Breadline Africa completed 79 projects across all nine provinces, reaching 22,059 direct beneficiaries. Across its work since 1993, it has provided 2,372 facilities and benefited 334,169 children.
Each number represents a physical place where something has changed. A teacher has room to gather children for a story. A child has a safe toilet to use during the day. An early learning centre has a stronger chance of meeting the requirements for registration.
It also represents the collective effort behind every project. Donors make the infrastructure possible. Practitioners bring the classrooms to life and partner organisations contribute specialist support according to the needs of each centre.
There is still a great deal to do. In 2025, Breadline Africa received 602 applications for infrastructure assistance and was able to complete projects at 79 sites. The gap is considerable, but every completed project shows that practical progress is possible.
In a few months, a new group of children will arrive at primary schools across South Africa. They will carry new bags and begin finding their place in unfamiliar classrooms.
Among them will be children whose early learning centres have been strengthened through Breadline Africa’s work and the support of its donors. They will arrive with experiences that have helped them learn how to listen, participate, learn and meet new challenges.
There is no single intervention that can prepare every child for everything that lies ahead. But giving a child a safe place to begin is a meaningful step.
For those children getting ready for their first day of big school, it may make all the difference.

Issued on behalf of Unu Health Breast cancer signs we shouldn't ignoreWhen it comes to breast cancer, most of us know wh...
05/10/2026

Issued on behalf of Unu Health

Breast cancer signs we shouldn't ignore

When it comes to breast cancer, most of us know what we are supposed to do: check for a lump. But a lump is not the only possible warning sign. Changes in the appearance of the breast, skin or ni**le can also warrant medical attention, yet they may be easier to overlook or dismiss. And while Breast Cancer Awareness Month quite rightly places the focus on women's health, men need to know the signs too.

“Breast cancer awareness is often reduced to feeling for a lump, but there is more to being breast aware than that,” says Luvuyo Maloka from digital health platform Unu Health. “Knowing what is normal for your body means you are more likely to notice when something changes — whether that change is a lump or something you can see rather than feel.”

According to the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), possible signs of breast cancer can include a thickening or lump in the breast or underarm but also changes in the size or shape of the breast, dimpling or puckering of the skin, an inverted ni**le, unusual ni**le discharge, or skin that becomes scaly, red, swollen or develops an orange-peel appearance. Some women may also experience breast or underarm tenderness, a rash or swelling.
This does not mean that experiencing one of these changes means you have breast cancer. Many breast changes have other causes. The important point is not to try to diagnose yourself, but to recognise when something is different from what is normal for you and have it assessed by a healthcare professional.

“It's very easy to tell ourselves that a change is probably nothing, particularly if there is no pain or obvious lump,” says Maloka. “But you don't have to know what the change means. You simply need to know that it is different and worth asking a healthcare professional about.”

And yes, men can get breast cancer too. It is a message that can sometimes get lost during Breast Cancer Awareness Month: men can develop breast cancer too. Male breast cancer is rare, accounting for around 1% of all breast cancers, according to CANSA.

The signs can be like those experienced by women. Men should pay attention to a lump or swelling in the chest or armpit, changes in the size or shape of the chest, ni**le discharge, a ni**le that turns inward, a rash or changes to the skin, or sores around the ni**le or chest. The fact that it is uncommon can make it easier for men to dismiss a change or assume breast cancer is something they do not need to think about. But unusual changes should still be checked.

“Breast cancer may be much less common in men, but rare doesn't mean impossible,” says Maloka. “The same principle applies to everyone: if something changes and it isn't normal for you, don't ignore it simply because you don't think it could happen to you.”
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is about more than remembering to check for lumps. It is about knowing what your breasts or chest normally look and feel like and being alert to changes. That awareness should also extend to the armpit and the area around the ni**le. Checking regularly can help people become familiar with what is normal for them, making it easier to identify something that has changed. And if something does change, the next step should not be an internet search or a wait-and-see approach. It should be a conversation with a healthcare professional.

This is where accessible healthcare can play an important role. Digital healthcare platforms give people access to doctors through online consultations, making it possible to discuss a symptom or concern without necessarily having to navigate the traditional healthcare system first.

“Healthcare shouldn't be about trying to work out what is wrong with you on your own,” says Maloka. “It should be about having somewhere to turn when you have a question or notice something that doesn't feel right.”

This October, perhaps the most useful thing we can do is move beyond the one symptom we have all been taught to look for. Know the lump, know the skin changes, know the ni**le changes, know what is normal for you, and remember that men need to know these signs too. Because when it comes to breast cancer, awareness isn't simply about knowing that it exists. It is about knowing what to look for — and knowing when it is time to ask for help.

For more information, please visit www.unuhealth.org

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