'Breast friends' from Asda Thornaby celebrate 30th anniversary of Tickled Pink

Self-styled "breast friends" Julie Kemp, Helen Middleton and Pauline Cox from Asda Thornaby are all using their own experiences to spread awareness of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer – and in the process have raised tens of thousands of pounds for Asda Tickled Pink as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.

The trio have all had breast cancer and are well known in the store and the local community for dressing up in pink wigs and tutus and holding fundraising events for our breast cancer charity campaign which raises money and awareness for Breast Cancer Now and CoppaFeel! – events which always go down well with customers and colleagues.

Helen, who's 53, has been at the store for 19 years and works alongside her husband, Rob. They have three children – Amy, who's 27, Sophie, who's 24, and 18-year-old Keira.

Helen, along with the rest of the "Asda sisterhood", puts her life and soul into fundraising for Tickled Pink and is famous for her legendary decorative cupcakes which she sells in the colleague canteen.

She said: "Tickled Pink is amazing and I feel proud to be involved. For me it's all about community spirit and raising awareness and it's come such a long way in 30 years.

"Awareness is the big thing for for me and checking yourself is so important. That’s what Tickled Pink does; it gets the message out there. We’ve got leaflets in the toilets, posters on the mirrors – everywhere. The store’s covered in them. It's important that colleagues and customers feel that they can come and talk to us if they’re worried.

"Everyone always gets behind all our fundraising here. We've done all sorts of things such as danceathons, bake sales and tombolas. Everyone loves a tombola here in Thornaby! We've had male colleagues shaving their chests and waxing their legs too. We have a lot of regular customers who always support what we do. We now have a full range of Tickled Pink T-shirts and pyjamas and customers look forward to them coming into store. It's exciting to see.

"Cancer is just a big scary word, but we must try to not look at the doom and gloom of it all. There are lots of positives. Medical research has improved leaps and bounds to what it was years ago. I hope in the future that everyone will be able to survive breast cancer. Early diagnosis is the key and that's what Tickled Pink is all about."

Helen was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019 and came back to the store in 2021 – and that's when she got close to Pauline.

Helen said: "Although Pauline and I have been here at Asda Thornaby for similar lengths of time, our paths only really crossed through breast cancer. It brought us together."

Pauline, who's 81, has recently retired, although she's already returned to the store to continue her fundraising. She's been instrumental in establishing a second-hand book stall at the front of the store for customers and colleagues which brings in about £2,000 to £3,000 a year for Tickled Pink.

One of her daughters, Jaqueline, who lives in Ascot, has put out appeals for books in her area... and has received thousands of them which she's brought up to Thornaby by car.

Pauline, who's worked at the store for 23 years, said: "We must have raised tens of thousands of pounds for Tickled Pink over the years – last year we raised £8,000 alone.

Pauline was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 after requesting a mammogram and cancerous cells were fund within the milk glands. She had surgery within weeks and then 15 rounds of radiotherapy.

She said: We are the faces of Tickled Pink here and we are always here for anyone who needs to talk. In years gone by breast cancer wasn't talked about, but thankfully it is now. Tickled Pink has made breast cancer an everyday word; it's nothing to shy away from.

"We like to support our customers, as some of them just need that few minutes natter and a bit of lightheartedness too."

She has another daughter Caroline and three grand-daughters, Lucy, who's 27, Caoimhe, who's 23, and 22-year-old Emily.

Julie, who's 62, has been married to Neil for 37 years and they have a son, Martin, and three grandchildren, Ellie, who's 21, Taylor, who's 16, and six-year-old Maisie.

She's had breast cancer twice, after first being diagnosed in 2014 and a reoccurrence in 2018 – and says Tickled Pink's message of raising awareness of the importance of regularly checking yourself is vital.

She said: "Early detection is so, so important, and I feel so lucky. This year I've been to the celebrations of my son, Martin, who has turned 40, and my oldest grand-daughter Ellie who turned 21 and graduated from university too. I've a little grand-daughter, Maisie, who's just turned six who I may not have even met, so I'm really thankful.

"The support I got from everyone, especially my friends at Asda, was a huge help. Pauline lives close to me so she was checking up on me all the time and even took me to scan appointments. We've all been there for one another.

"I just feel so grateful that there are charities like Tickled Pink out there. A lot of the stuff that is needed is so expensive and the NHS just can't afford it."

Store manager Linzi Robson said: "These ladies are absolutely amazing and an inspiration.The support they get in the community is second to none. Breast cancer touches everyone; people will always know someone who has been affected by it.

"Tickled Pink is such a great cause and we're so happy to get behind it – we love turning the store pink. Raising awareness of self checking is such an important message and hopefully what we do here in Asda Thornaby is making a difference."

Regular Asda Thornaby customer Niggat Latif and her two-year-old daughter Iyra always take part in the store fundraising tombolas for Tickled Pink.

She said: "Tickled Pink is something which is very close to my heart as my cousin is undergoing breast cancer treatment at the moment. Seeing the fundraising in store really touches my heart and I always it. We love coming to Asda Thornaby as all the colleagues are so friendly and helpful."

Asda Tickled Pink, established in 1996, is the UK's longest-running corporate charity partnership, dedicated to supporting breast cancer charities. The partnership has raised £100 million and funds world-class research, life-changing support services, and vital educational programmes. Find out more here