Activists hope bra chain breaks world record, raises cancer awareness

PAPHOS, Cyprus – Campaigners in Cyprus said Sunday they had created the world’s longest chain of bras to raise awareness of breast cancer and win a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

The activists said they had managed to string together some 114,000 bras, beating the record held in Singapore since 2003 of 79,000 bras.

“We know how many bras we have, and we have beaten the record,” said Gina Ghillyer, an activist with the local cancer patients support group that organized the event.

Hundreds of people assembled at this seaside city’s small harbor early Sunday to help form a colorful chain of bras donated from around the world.

There are 300 new cases of breast cancer in Cyprus every year, and doctors believe early detection is vital for chances of survival.

“Cancer does not necessarily kill – negligence will,” said activist Louisa van Rooij.

Many in the crowd cried when Rooij read a message in support of the cause from a woman dying from breast cancer.

She had written the message on two bras linked together – one belonging to her and the other to her mother, who died from breast cancer.