50% of Women Don't Check Their Breasts For Cancer

Thirteen per cent insisted they didn't think it necessary, 18 per cent said they were unaware of the need and 15 per cent said they feared checking in case they found something.

The survey, of 1,000 women by charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, also revealed 53 per cent did not know alcohol could increase the risk of the disease and almost half did not realize putting on weight or being obese made them more susceptible.

"These results show clearly that more work is needed to make sure that women are breast aware," the Daily Express quoted Dr Sarah Rawlings, the charity's head of policy, as saying.