Bra Bank opens at Bedford Railway Station to raise money for breast cancer research

A Bra Bank is set to open for donations at Bedford Railway Station to help fund pioneering breast cancer research.

And for every tonne of bras collected, charity Against Breast Cancer will receive £700 for its work.

The initiative is being brought to the station by Thameslink employee, Susan Hall, who started to research bra recycling schemes after discovering that charity shops and clothes banks wouldn’t accept them.

Susan, who is a Station Assistant, said: “The statistics on how many cancers reoccur is very scary. That’s why the work of this charity is so important because they focus on increasing the survival rate of all breast cancer patients.

"Like many others, I’ve had various family members affected by cancer but thankfully the disease hasn’t returned, and they are still in remission.

“I feel scared every time my parents go back to oncology for check-ups and I dread to think what’s it’s like to hear the news that it’s come back and you have to start the battle all over again.

"Against Breast Cancer researches the secondary causes of breast cancer, in the hope that women only have to fight the disease once.”

Against Breast Cancer funds research into new treatments, tools for earlier diagnosis and advice to reduce the risk of recurrence and secondary spread.

As well as funding research, the bras collected in Bedford will help support small businesses in Africa, as part of a textile recovery project - preventing them going into landfill and giving them a new lease of life in countries where bras remain too expensive to produce locally.

The ‘Bra Bank’ will be open for donations at Bedford station for three weeks - every Monday and Thursday from 9am – 12pm, starting Monday, August 16 and ending on Thursday, September 2.

To find our more about bra recycling schemes by Against Breast Cancer, visit Bra Recycling - Against Breast Cancer.