Don't die from fear or embarrassment. That's the message during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Actress and writer, Meera Syal, has joined forces with Cancer Research UK and support group Cancer Black Care to raise awareness of breast cancer within the Asian communities.

Meera says, "Join me, Cancer Research UK and Cancer Black Care in being breast aware. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we're encouraging women everywhere to examine their breasts on a regular basis.

"Doing this could save your life and if you think you've found anything out of the ordinary, seek medical advice. Your health is far too precious to die from fear or embarassment."

A recent study published in the British Journal of Cancer showed that South Asian women living in England were far more likely to survive breast cancer than other women.

The study looked at differences in breast cancer survival between ethnic groups in Britain and it is hoped that the research will help doctors target their work towards people of different ethnic backgrounds and cultures.

However, there is still much to be done as 41,000 women in Britain develop the disease each year. That's a sister, a mother, an aunt or a friend. It is a disease that naturally will strike fear into the heart of every woman yet both charities say that early detection DOES save lives.

And it is this early detection that Cancer Research UK and Cancer Black Care are keen to promote as a report called Breast Screening and Ethnic Minority Women, published in 1999 in the British Journal of Nursing, stated that: "....despite the introduction of the NHS Breast Screening Programme in 1988, the uptake of breast cancer screening remains low amongst minority women."

Breast Cancer Awareness Month will be running throughout the whole of October. Pink ribbons, the international symbol of breast cancer awareness, are on sale throughout the UK.