"Over the past year, around 350 new cases of breast cancer have been registered at Mater Dei alone. Awareness is not enough and people need to be brave enough to make it a point and have regular screenings. When a condition is detected from its early days, there are more chances for treatment to be successful."

This was stated by Gertrude Abela, President of Europa Donna Malta during a press event at OYSHO in The Point to launch this year's edition of the annual Silhouette Walk, a walk to raise awareness about the importance of breast screening. The Silhouette Walk will be held on Sunday 26th October commencing at 10.00am from near The Mall in Floriana and finishing at The Ferries in Sliema.

This year is the 25th Anniverary since the founding of Breast Care Support Group and the 10th anniversary since the group joined Europa Donna Europe's Breast Cancer Coalition on whose Board Gertrude Abela sits as its Treasurer.

"Europa Donna Malta has been working incessantly through the organisation of lectures, walks, seminars and activities to promote breast screening awareness. We are also being invited to other activities to give talks to different women's clubs and places of work. As a result, we have been seeing more people seeking screening and this shows that Europa Donna's efforts are being repaid," added Gertrude Abela.

The walk, now in its fifth edition is for the second year being supported by OYSHO, the female intimate clothing brand present with an outlet at The Point.  Around 300 people attended last year's event which commenced from The Point's Pjazza Tignè and finished in Valletta's St George's Square.

"We are delighted that for the second year we are again having this opportunity to support Europa Donna in this walk. Oysho is a brand that believes and encourages women to love themselves not only through the way they look but also in their intimacy. This is why through our contribution, we are raising awareness on the importance for women to love themselves and to take care of their health by attending to regular check-ups and being always informed. We also hope that more women will become aware of the importance of regular breast screening," said Annabel Caruana OYSHO's brand manager.

Registrations start at 9.30am and participation is against a donation of €5. Oysho will be distributing t-shirts to all participants purposely sent from the brand in Spain. The walk invites people who have, or know of someone who has gone through the trauma of breast cancer, to show solidarity with people going through the treatment and to remember those who have passed on. Silhouettes will be carried during the walk, Pink for the people who have or know of someone with breast cancer, white for those we lost and blue for men who also have breast cancer.