Breast cancer plea by Dani Behr

The television presenter Dani Behr yesterday revealed how breast cancer had cast a shadow over two generations of her family. The former presenter of The Word was helping launch Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which runs throughout October. She said it was never too early to start taking precautions against the illness, which kills 14,000 women in the UK each year.

" ... Two of my great-grandmothers and one grandmother died from it," she said. "It's really important for women to get the message about checking for lumps in their breasts, especially women my age. It's easy for us to think that it won't happen to us, but my grandmother was 33 when she died, only 10 years older than me, so we can't ignore it."

Breast cancer affects one in 12 British women and kills more females than any other cancer in the country, making the UK one of those worst affected by the disease.