In 2022, an estimated 2.3 million women worldwide were diagnosed with breast cancer, while approximately 670,000 died from the disease.
In Nigeria, the latest estimates are equally sobering. The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that the country recorded more than 44,000 new breast cancer cases and over 21,000 related deaths in 2024. Breast cancer represented almost half of all new cancer cases among Nigerian women.
These figures describe a public-health problem, but they also represent mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, employees and business owners whose lives—and families—can be changed by a diagnosis.
Early detection does not guarantee a particular outcome, but the stage at which breast cancer is found can make a profound difference. U.S. survival data show a five-year relative survival rate of more than 99 percent when invasive breast cancer is detected while still localized. That figure falls to 32 percent after the disease has spread to distant parts of the body. Outcomes differ across countries and depend heavily on access to timely diagnosis and quality treatment, but the evidence is clear: finding concerning changes early matters.
For Brief Essentials, breast health is closely connected to the women the company serves. The Nigerian lingerie and foundation-wear brand has spent 15 years helping women understand their bodies, find properly fitting bras and feel more comfortable discussing concerns that are often treated as private or embarrassing.
That relationship creates an opportunity to do more than sell products.
On Friday and Saturday, October 30 and 31, Brief Essentials will turn its store into a community breast-health space for the BE Breast Health Weekend. In partnership with Sebeccly Cancer Care, the company is sponsoring free Clinical Breast Examinations and community breast cancer awareness for 50 women.
Brief Essentials’ commitment to breast health extends beyond its store. From awareness campaigns and walkathons to educational initiatives and screening events, the company has consistently supported breast health since its early years. At its store, Brief Essentials has hosted two previous screening events, providing women with access to examinations while donating a percentage of sales from the event to support Sebeccly Cancer Care.
This year’s programme continues that commitment. The Clinical Breast Examinations will be conducted by the Sebeccly team between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on both days. Registration is required, and examinations will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis to registered attendees.
No purchase is necessary to receive an examination.
However, customers who choose to shop in-store during the two-day event will also contribute to the cause: Brief Essentials will donate 10 percent of sales made during the event to Sebeccly Cancer Care. Customers who require further attention after the programme will also have access to discounted follow-up services from Sebeccly.
There is a wider lesson in this approach.
Social impact does not always have to begin with a separate foundation, a large external programme or an enormous budget. Sometimes it begins when a business looks carefully at what it already has: a physical space, a trusted relationship with customers, a platform and the ability to convene people around an important need.
For Brief Essentials, a lingerie store can also become a place where women learn more about their breast health, ask questions without embarrassment and take an important step towards seeking care when something does not feel right.
One store cannot solve Nigeria’s breast cancer burden. But for two days, it can bring credible information and professional examination closer to 50 women. It can encourage conversations that continue within homes, workplaces and friendship circles. And it can remind other businesses that community impact often starts with using what is already in their hands.
The BE Breast Health Weekend will hold on Friday and Saturday, October 30 and 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Brief Essentials.
Participation is free, but registration is required. Interested women can register through the link provided on Brief Essentials’ platforms.
A Brief Essentials LoveThatLifts Initiative.
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The statistics used are from IARC’s global and Nigeria estimates and the American Cancer Society’s stage-specific survival data.
