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Free health checks in City Square today and tomorrow

Free health checks in City Square today and tomorrow

The Irish Cancer Society is conducting free health checks in City Square Shopping Centre today and tomorrow.

The walk-in service will run until 9pm tonight and from 9am to 8pm tomorrow.

Checks will take 15 minutes and include a blood pressure check and a body mass index (BMI) and a carbon monoxide reading.

Information on cancer prevention, screening, and its early signs will also be provided during the checks.

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Nurses will be in the shopping centre to discuss any changes in health or concerns about cancer that a person might have. If further help is required, a referral to a GP will be arranged.

Olivia Teehan, the Cancer Awareness Co-ordinator, says it's important to know your body in order to track changes.

"We'd just always be encouraging people that if they do notice something that's persistent, that if they can't explain it they would be checking that out with their GP," she said.

The health checks are part of the 'Your Health Matters' Early Detection Roadshow which was set up in response to health checks being delayed because of the pandemic.

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The Irish Cancer Society was worried that people were getting diagnosed later, meaning treatment options and survival rates could be limited.

The Roadshow seeks to promote positive lifestyle changes, increase awareness of cancer symptoms, and promote medical care-seeking behaviour for the early signs of cancer.

It will continue to deliver health checks across Ireland throughout the rest of the year. It has already been to eight different shopping centres in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick, with Louth, Sligo, Donegal, and Carlow next on the list.

To read more about the Irish Cancer Society and what they do, check out their website.

For more Waterford news, click here

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