Whilst over half of people getting a cancer diagnosis will now live for 10 or more years, a major challenge with female cancers is overcoming embarrassment and getting women to attend screening tests and report changes, such as in the breasts, promptly. It's very important that women are aware of the early signs and symptoms of female cancers.

You may know many of your female customers quite well, so you're in the perfect position to pick up on their health concerns and signpost them to other services or refer them to a doctor. Pharmacy teams can also encourage women to attend screening tests such as mammograms and cervical cancer screening. When it comes to the menopause, women can be surprised by the uncomfortable symptoms they experience, even if they have read or heard about them before.

Symptoms such as hot flushes can be embarrassing, but can be reduced with lifestyle changes. Bladder weakness may also be a problem and can in fact occur at any age, particularly in women. Women may worry in silence about these conditions, not wanting to seek help due to anxiety or embarrassment.

But a listening ear, friendly face and empathetic manner are most of what's needed to encourage customers with these issues to open up and get good advice. Some of us may have even suffered from these conditions, and if not we probably have a friend or family member who has. Your customers will be relieved to find that someone understands and that they're not alone.

So, who is leading the Team Tuesday training this time? Has it tended to be the same person up until now? How about another team member having a go? Perhaps you can bring some fresh ideas to the team discussion. For those leading the training, you'll find accompanying learning prompts and teaching notes here.