It was late on a Monday night last September, after returning home from dinner with a friend, when I found the first lump. I was putting on my pyjama top when my hand grazed over what felt like a big, juicy grape at the bottom of my right breast.
I knew there was nothing more I could do at 11pm on a Monday, so I tried to put it out of my mind and went to bed, then sprang into action the next morning, quickly booking an appointment at a private hospital – I couldn’t face the prospect of dealing with NHS waiting times.
Initially, I was loath to ask AI about the lump in case I read something worrying, but I’m glad I caved the next day. ChatGPT told me that smooth, symmetrical lumps that move around are usually benign, which made me feel better when I discovered a second, smaller lump next to it the next morning, and two more in my other breast.
UK politics
State pension triple lock could be axed – how to replace it
Andy Burnham is facing growing pressure to scrap the triple lock on state pensions to help repair the nations’ finances.
Here’s how the Government could navigate any journey away from the policy – and what could replace it.
Why might the triple lock be axed?
The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) has, for the first time, called on Chancellor John Healey to abandon the policy, under which the state pension rises by whichever is highest of inflation, wage growth or 2.5 per cent each year.
The BCC argued that replacing it with an inflation-matched raise (a single lock) could save £3.3bn in two years. Currently, the triple lock costs £146bn a year.
Other options to replace triple lock
Smoothed earnings link
Mostly following wage growth but rising with inflation if there’s a temporary price shock.
Double lock
Removing the 2.5 per cent guarantee, rising with the higher of inflation or wages.
People build up credits through work and activities, and retirement age is determined by individual health.
Why is it controversial?
The Labour Party committed to keeping the triple lock in its 2024 manifesto. Going back on this would likely alienate older voters, who are generally more likely to go to the polls in an election than younger generations.
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‘The triple lock has got to go’
There is no longer a financial or moral justification for keeping the triple lock, but scrapping it represents a political risk that no prime minister has felt like taking.
It was only introduced to rebuild the value of the state pension after decades in which it had fallen relative to earnings – not necessarily as a permanent settlement.
The inescapable fact is that most of us are living longer and collecting pensions for longer. Someone has to pay for that, and the bill goes to people of working age.
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Hundreds of thousands of unemployed young people may see their benefits replaced with employment support under Government welfare reforms.
Here’s what we know.
Alan Milburn, the Government’s youth unemployment tsar, suggested many young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neets) – including those diagnosed with conditions like ADHD and anxiety – should see a shift in the state support they receive. “Work beats welfare every single time,” he said.
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Why The Netherlands is a blueprint
- Milburn was visiting The Netherlands as part of a “fact-finding mission” as he prepares to publish his final recommendations in a landmark report about young people and work.
- This year, the UK topped for the first time since 2013.
- According to research from the independent think-tank The Resolution Foundation, if Britain’s Neet rate mirrored the Dutch rate, 600,000 more young adults would be in work.
- In The Netherlands, , whereas in Britain, support is generally for unemployment and centralised via the universal credit benefits system.
High anxiety levels
Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) rank the UK at the top of the charts for anxiety levels among younger people, but The Netherlands comes in second.
Milburn highlighted how this doesn’t lead to low participation levels, adding: “Just because you’ve got a condition, or even because you’ve got the diagnosis, shouldn’t mean that you aren’t able to work.”
A growing problem
Nearly a quarter – around 250,000 – of young people who are classed as Neets are estimated to have mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, according to Department for Work and Pensions data.
The number of young people claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for mental health conditions such as anxiety and neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD has also increased.
Don’t make these money moves before next month’s Budget
With next month’s Budget fast approaching, speculation over what the Chancellor might announce is rife.
But history suggests making moves before the red box is opened can leave people worse off. Here is what to avoid.
Taking tax-free cash early
- One of the most obvious reactions to is to take the 25 per cent tax-free lump sum before the rules potentially change.
- The Institute for Fiscal Studies proposed cutting the lump sum to £100,000 in 2024 but the change has still not been implemented.
- Ian Cook, chartered financial planner at Quilter Cheviot, warned that taking the lump sum could undermine long-term retirement plans, and means the money loses the opportunity to remain invested.
Selling assets just in case
Another rumoured Budget policy change is that the capital gains tax (CGT) rate could increase, which can tempt investors to sell assets now and pay today’s tax rate.
- However, this can mean paying more tax than needed if assets are sold in bulk, as there are multiple tax-free allowances before CGT is owed.
Giving away too much
With speculation that inheritance tax (IHT) could be raised, people often use gifting to avoid it, as gifts given more than seven years before death are exempt from IHT.
However, experts warn that rushing into this can lead to people giving away more than they can afford.
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Making a hasty property move
There have been suggestions that the recently introduced mansion tax could be charged on homes worth £1.5m or more, rather than the current £2m.
Eamonn Prendergast, chartered financial planner at Palantir Financial Planning, said people should not panic and instead “ignore speculation when making a property purchase or sale decision, and act as if there was no speculation” rather than making a move they don’t really want.
Doing nothing at all
But experts warn that the biggest trap is becoming so worried about the Budget that you stop making sensible financial decisions altogether.
Jason Hollands from wealth management firm Evelyn Partners says: “For investors and savers, the sensible approach is to focus on decisions that make sense under current rules rather than trying to second-guess the contents of a future Budget.
Frequently consuming drinks at very high temperatures increases the risk of oesophageal cancer – cancer of the food pipe or gullet – UK research suggests.
A three times higher chance
The study, from Oxford Population Health at the University of Oxford, included nearly a million people and found those who drank “very hot” drinks had about a three times higher risk of oesophageal .
Hot liquid may damage the cell lining of the food pipe as it travels down to the stomach, which could increase the risk of cancer developing, though the overall risk is low.
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How hot is too hot?
The research, published in the , did not record the temperature of drinks. But the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified drinking beverages above 65°C as “probably carcinogenic”.
Drinking six or more hot beverages a day also increases the risk, data from 977,282 middle-aged men and women in this latest study shows.
What to do
- Letting drinks cool down before drinking or adding cold milk can negate the risk, experts agreed.
- Researchers said the temperature at which coffee and tea is drunk in Western populations is estimated to be .
- “More research is needed to identify the exact drink temperatures linked to increased risk,” the researchers added.
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A rare cancer
The researchers said that one or two in every 10 oesophageal cancers could be avoided if people stopped consuming hot drinks.
The cancer is rare, though, with only around 1 per cent of the UK population at risk of being diagnosed with this type of cancer.
- Other factors, such as smoking, pose a comparatively bigger risk for developing oesophageal cancer.
How to be more grateful for daily life in five easy steps
The world feels like a difficult place at the moment, and it can feel very hard sometimes to find things to be thankful for; when we are overwhelmed, we have less capacity to notice and reflect on the good things. Yet, ironically, proactively cultivating gratitude is one of the things that can actually help us feel less stressed.
NHS GP dR RADHA
The science
Research has shown that feeling or expressing thanks can actually alter our brain.
- The balance of neurotransmitters change; more serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) are produced.
- This can be long lasting if we make gratitude a regular habit.
- We also get a decrease in our cortisol (stress hormone) levels which helps lower anxiety.
- Being grateful can strengthen the nerve pathways which triggers positive emotion.
How can we build gratitude?
Change your words
Instead of seeing something as a problem, try to see the opportunities within it.
Our brains are very receptive and what we read or write can alter our emotional system.
Express it
This will not only make you feel good, but you will also get a positive response from others.
How can we build gratitude?
Notice more
Throughout your day, try to notice all the things that are going well; has someone opened a door for you, or smiled?
The basics
By being thankful for the small things every day, we are far more likely to be and stay healthy so that we can enjoy them.
What to do
Gratitude can lead to feelings of optimism, lower our blood pressure, and improve sleep quality.
- Write down what potential good aspects there are to the things you don’t feel like doing, or even what could be worse about it.
- Spend a few minutes writing down three things that you are looking forward to that day, or the good things that have happened to you that day.
- Say thank you to yourself for the things you have achieved, or managed to get through and changed that day.
Sales of battery
electric vehicles hit a record high last year.
Starts at £22,995 for the smaller battery
Available with either a 40kWh battery or a larger 52kWh pack, that offers almost 255 miles, the latest, retro-inspired Renault 5 is both a joy to behold and a hoot to drive.
The interior has been lavished with a level of detail that’s typically reserved for more expensive cars.
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A champion of EV efficiency
It offers a remarkable 491 mile range on a single charge from the 85kWh battery.
It is a technological masterclass inside with the ability to option screens that span the entire width of the dashboard, including an optional display for the front passenger.
Priced from £37,400
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It’s a lot of money to part with, but this is arguably all the car you will ever need.
The £89,000 Macan is a premium SUV that somehow manages to blend Porsche’s reputation for dynamics and sporty driving with everyday practicality.
The 95kWh batteries can go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes from the fastest public charging outlets.
With the business class-style six seat configuration costing a staggering £76,995, it is by far the most expensive Kia ever made, but it backs up its financial demands with a suite of genuinely useful and impressive onboard technology.
It’s fast, goes a long way between stops and charges relatively quickly but the interior is bland, the onboard technology is infuriating and the experience is devoid of emotion.
All of its gadgetry can’t disguise the fact that performance is weak, even for a typically zippy EV, the ride is fussy at slower speeds and it’s not in the least bit enjoyable to drive on a country road.
- While good value (prices start at £17,935) for the 200-mile max range, there are more interesting options from Hyundai, Citroen and Renault for similar money.
- It attempts to wow with tech, much of which hinders, rather than helps.
- There’s no tangible benefit over mounting your phone to the dash.
- Simply an average driving experience, adequate range and slow charging speeds.
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The kitchen gadgets under £25
Victorinox paring knife
It’s comfortable to hold, with a point sharp enough for scoring pastry.
ProCook cast iron pan
For unbeatable searing and heat-retention, cast iron is the top choice.
Tesco chopping board
Priced at just £22, I’ve yet to find another board that matches it for sheer value and quality.
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Pyrex jug
It is the perfect vessel for blending smooth sauces, melting butter, or warming stock. It won’t stain like plastic and the red measurements never fade.
Salter scales
“I’ve had my slim little set of Salter Disc Scales for over a decade, and I’m delighted to see they are still made to exactly the same reliable design today.”
Microplane grater
It uses photo-etched stainless steel teeth that stay razor-sharp for a decade, something the lookalike copycats simply can’t match.
Braun hand-held blender
It’s an essential for everything from making velvety soup to getting the lumps out of white sauce.
Bodum cafetiere
As well as delivering great results, cafetieres are easy to clean and there’s no ongoing filter paper costs or pod recycling to deal with.
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The kitchen gadgets under £25
Oxo peeler
What truly sets it apart is the chunky, rubberised handle that absorbs pressure and stays completely non-slip, even if your hands are wet. It is inexpensive and incredibly durable.
Falcon pie dish
Made by fusing porcelain onto heavy-gauge steel for smooth durability, it is dishwasher, freezer, hob, air-fryer and oven-safe.
The golden rules for a happy, secure relationship
Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr Amir Levine, author of bestselling book , explains why we behave the way we do in love.
Golden rules for happy relationships
Start with your own behaviours
The foundation of a secure, connected life is being what I call CARRP: that means being consistent, available, responsive, reliable and predictable. All of these qualities can be enacted in small gestures every day.
Express your needs
People need consistency and connection to feel safe. This is not, ‘You hurt my feelings by never replying to me’, it’s more ‘this is the kind of contact that helps me feel secure’.
Golden rules for happy relationships
The appendix ‘inflammation’ rule
If a relationship repeatedly inflames your nervous system, you need to disengage and deprioritise it.
Lean on community
You don’t need hundreds of friends. You need people and places that regularly remind you that you belong.
Stop blaming childhood
Humans are much more complicated than: ‘this happened to you, therefore you are doomed to be anxious’.
Reach for a
secure script
When something unsettles you in a relationship, your first reaction is not always the most accurate one.
If you’re anxious, your brain may jump very quickly to: ‘this is the beginning of the end’. If you’re avoidant, your brain may say: ‘this person wants too much from me, I need to get away’. So one very practical thing you can always do is pause and ask: ‘What would a secure person do here?’
Loneliness elsewhere
When people talk about loneliness, they often assume it means you don’t have enough people in your life. But you can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely if those relationships leave you feeling excluded, ignored or disconnected.
What to do
- Build a community that works for your temperament and gives you regular, reliable moments of connection.
- You can still be kind to people while not treating them as someone who belongs in your inner circle.
- Explain what you need. Sometimes people simply don’t realise how you are experiencing them.
- Check in with people: does this person actually feel that I’m reliable? Do they experience me as predictable? That’s the only way that you can start to become more secure.
“I think they will just be cysts, but I will refer you for a mammogram and ultrasound to make sure,” said the doctor when she examined me. By the time the screening appointment came round, I’d found a fourth lump, but as predicted by the doc, they all turned out to be benign cysts, showing up as clear black circles against the white breast tissue on the ultrasound. I burst into tears of relief when I left the screening room.
The whole experience was very stressful, but there was one major upside. The screening report revealed that I am one of the 10 per cent of women who have very dense breasts (there are four categories, ascending from A to D), meaning I have an increased risk of breast cancer. I’m 42, and must have annual checks from now on, eight years before I turn 50, the age at which NHS routine screening starts for women who are at average risk of cancer (for those at higher risk due to things like family history or carrying BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene changes, checks can start earlier).
Fifty per cent of women over 40 have dense breasts, and you can only identify this through a mammogram. You cannot tell if you have dense breasts through a self-exam; dense breasts are not necessarily firmer.
There has been a significant rise in breast cancer incidence rates in under-fifties in recent years, which the Breast Cancer Research Fund calls a “deeply concerning” trend, and some experts argue that routine breast screening should be expanded. Earlier this month, a Cambridge University study revealed that GP breast cancer risk guidelines miss 95 per cent of young women who will go on to develop the disease.
And in a paper published last May, researchers found that offering enhanced scans to women with very dense breasts could detect 3,500 more cases and save 700 lives a year in the UK. In response, the UK National Screening Committee said it is reviewing evidence that women with dense breasts should be offered additional screening appointments.
Concerned by what she had been seeing in her clinic, oncology nurse Gemma Reeves set up a petition last year asking the government to lower the starting age for mammograms from 50 to 40 and make them annual instead of every three years. “I noticed a rise in younger patients coming through the door with breast cancer and having to sit for gruelling hours of chemotherapy,” Reeves says. “I looked into it and realised that the breast screening age had not been lowered since 1988, and I thought, ‘I need to try and do something about it.’”
After garnering 106,000 signatures, the petition was debated in Parliament. MPs at the debate commended Reeves for her initiative, but said no decision could be made until the National Screening Committee has received the results of the long-running AgeX study, due in 2027. One arm of this clinical trial, which started in 2009, aims to assess the pros and cons of offering breast screening for women aged 47 to 49 (the other focuses on women aged 70 to 73). “The evidence will be looked at and, if it is strong enough, things will change,” said Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, who at the time was parliamentary under-secretary of state for public health and prevention, at the debate.
But Reeves thinks 47 is still too late to begin screening. “My argument is you don’t know you’ve got dense breast tissue until you have your first screening.” Dense breasts (those in the C and D categories) contain a higher proportion of fibrous tissue than fat, explains Dr Teri Brew, GP and medical director of preventative health at cancer care provider Perci Health. “If you have C or D density, you have an increased risk of breast cancer and mammograms are less sensitive, so it’s harder to pick cancers up.” Tumours and fibrous tissue both appear white on scans, which is why ultrasound or MRI are used as an additional diagnostic tool.
Brew points out that in some other countries, breast cancer screening begins earlier and happens every two years. “The US in 2024 commissioned a big systematic review and decided to lower the age of screening from 50 to 40, and Sweden starts screening from 40 as well. There is an increasing rate of more aggressive cancers developing in the 40 to 50 age group, and there is an argument to definitely look at starting screening earlier.”
Despite the setback in Parliament, Reeves was encouraged by Sharon Hodgson, who came up to her after the debate and told her not to give up on her mission. “I’m not going to,” she says, and in the meantime, she wants to remind women that self-checking is a very important part of breast cancer prevention.
“Once a month is enough, and allows patients to assess changes during the menstrual cycle,” says Katerina Micha, breast surgeon at New Victoria Hospital. Changes to look and feel for include lumps, changes in breast size, nipple discharge, and changes in the skin such as indentations, from the breasts all the way up to the armpits. “Finding a lump in most cases is not cancer. However, it is something that requires examination,” Micha says. If it does turn out to be a cancerous tumour, early detection is better, she adds. “The earlier the cancer is found, the more treatment options we have, and the better outcomes we have.”
As I discovered, finding breast lumps can be scary, but I’m glad that I didn’t delay in getting mine checked out. I’d encourage others to do the same, and to set a reminder in their calendar to check their chest at the same time every month (women and men, as both can get breast cancer). Or you could sign up for the handy Coppafeel! text reminders. While there’s no guarantee the Government will change its breast cancer screening policy in future, keeping an eye – and a hand – on your boobs might just save your life.