The international awareness campaign “Know Your Lemons” was presented in Cyprus at a press conference hosted by the Oncology Society of Cyprus (OEK) at the Journalists’ House, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The goal is to give women clearer, more accessible ways to recognise the signs of breast cancer and to encourage earlier diagnosis.
According to OEK, the campaign’s worldwide impact lies in the power of imagery. Its creator, Corrine Beaumont, visualised the twelve possible warning signs of breast cancer using twelve lemons arranged in an egg carton; turning a difficult, sensitive topic into a simple, familiar and understandable picture.
Speaking at the event, OEK President Dr. Anastasia Konstantinidou said the “Know Your Lemons” campaign aims to inform and educate the public about prevention and the early detection of a cancer that is both treatable and curable. She noted that one in eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. In Cyprus, around 700-800 new cases are recorded annually; in 2024 there were 849 new cases in women and nine in men. Prevention and early detection, she stressed, remain the most important means of tackling the disease.
Dr. Chrysanthos Georgiou, Vice President of the Pancyprian Medical Association, emphasised that public information, when grounded in scientific evidence and communicated in plain, accessible language, can become a force for saving lives.
From the private sector, Nikos Christidis, Sales Director at Medochemie, underlined that preventive screening should rest on three pillars: self-examination, imaging, and clinical examination.
As part of the Cyprus rollout, a series of public information and education activities will take place island-wide to strengthen knowledge about early diagnosis and the importance of self-checks. The campaign is held under the auspices of the Pancyprian Medical Association, implemented with the support of the pharmaceutical company Medochemie, and is based on the international programme of the Know Your Lemons Foundation, a global charity promoting breast cancer awareness and prevention with an active presence in over 60 countries.