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Cancer Awareness Projects
Community Links is running several projects increasing awareness of various types of cancer and promoting screening. For the latest news on all our health projects, visit the Community Links blog.
Breast cancer awareness in Plashet School
Our project in Plashet School works with Asian girls to increase their awareness of breast cancer, and encourages them to pass the information on to their family members. A recent study in east London showed that Asian women were less aware of breast cancer and how to check for it than the general population, and were more likely to worry about going to the doctor. Better awareness, and the confidence to go to the doctor early could save many lives. The project is led by a team of young volunteers, many of whom have recently left Plashet School themselves and are now studying medicine or biomedical sciences. The Project has been featured on the website of the Central & East London Cancer Screening Service.
Download a summary of the project and a set of tips for other practitioners undertaking similar projects.
Breast Cancer screening
last year we were commissioned by the local PCT to increase uptake of breast cancer screening in Newham. Our team of local staff (many of whom are bilingual) have been phoning up women to encourage them to go for their routine scan. As a result of the project, attendance increased by 15 percentage points (our initial target was only 3), potentially saving hundreds of lives as breast cancer diagnosed earlier is much easier to treat. It was so successful we’ve been asked to run it again this year.
Cervical cancer screening
In a similar project, our team have been contacting local women to encourage them to go for cervical cancer screening, but also researching some of reasons why women aren't going in the first place.
For more information about any of these projects please contact Zoraida Colorado
And if you're worried about breast cancer or would like more information then contact your local GP (you can find their details on the NHS website) or take a look at the Breast Cancer Care website or call their helpline on 0808 800 6000.