With spring just around the corner, there are lots of new courses, interesting developments and exciting things to get involved with at Answer Cancer I hope you enjoy this newsletter and please do get in touch with any suggestions for things you would like to see included in future editions.
Newsletter Highlights
- Book onto our training sessions
- Who’s pledged to Bee Seen, Get Screened
- This Van Can
- Bowel Cancer UK Awareness Roadshow
- Transfer Research
- Storytelling event
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening
- Breast Screening saves lives
- Tackling Cancer in Bolton
- Heart of Salford awards 2025
Upcoming Training & Events
Free training sessions from Answer Cancer, the Greater Manchester Cancer Screening Engagement Programme! Different dates and times are available to suit you. We are now offering training through a mixture of online and face-to-face sessions, so please make note when signing up!
You need to register in advance to attend the sessions, but you can join as many sessions as you like. For a list of courses and register, please click here.
Courses provided by other organisations
GM Cancer Alliance Health Inequalities Training Opportunities
If you are looking for additional training opportunities, which will give you the skills & knowledge to start helping people within your community, these courses could be for you.
CRUK Talk Cancer
GM Cancer Alliance have commissioned Talk Cancer and Train the Presenter sessions from CRUK to train and give confidence to people in their ability to talk about cancer in their communities.
The workshops will help you:
- Talk to people about reducing their risk of cancer
- Understand importance of spotting cancer early and screening programmes
- Address fears and barriers
- Understand how health inequalities impact on cancer outcomes
- Encourage positive action for people’s health
Below is the final workshops for this financial year, so do not miss out!
CRUK Talk Cancer Train the Presenter Training Day
Train the Presenter training – Thursday 6th March, 10am-4pm – Village hotel, Ashton
Health Literacy
Is a free webinar to learn more about the importance of health literacy and get practical tips and advice on improving your everyday communications. The webinar will take place on Microsoft Teams and will run twice with identical content:
- 4th March 2025, 1-3pm
- 31st March 2025, 1-3pm
Find further information and sign up for the date of your choice here.
Bowel Cancer UK Awareness Roadshow is coming to Manchester!
Come and see us on the road.
We’re heading around the UK to talk to as many people as possible about bowel cancer. We’re on a mission to increase public awareness of the disease and its symptoms.
Our friendly staff and volunteer teams will be there to answer your questions or listen to any worries you may have about bowel cancer, whether that’s about yourself, a loved one or a friend.
You can also take a walk through the giant inflatable bowel, which shows the various stages of bowel cancer. This interactive experience helps us raise awareness of symptoms and the importance of taking part in screening as well as good bowel health.
We’re visiting Manchester in April 2025:
- Wednesday 2nd April, 10am–4pm: Asda Eastlands Supercentre, Sport City, Ashton New Road, Manchester M11 4BD
- Thursday 3rd April, 10am–4pm: St Ann’s Square, Manchester M2 7JB
Transform Research
Storytelling event
Our thanks go to Answer Cancer Champion, Rona Barbour, who delivered our storytelling training in January. It was well received by those who attended. Here are some of the great comments we received.
“Thank you for a really valuable session to help me recognize the impactful nature of storytelling. This was a really helpful introduction to the topic with very interesting delivery.”
“This course was fabulous and very fulfilling. I believe that I have learned an amazing amount of information that, hopefully, I can put into great use.”
“The storytelling workshop was very insightful. I have gained new skills today and I hope to keep learning.”
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening
An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a swelling of the aorta, the main artery from your heart which passes through your abdomen. It can be serious if not spotted early as it grows bigger and can eventually burst.
NHS AAA Screening is routinely offered to men and those born male aged 65 and over as they are more likely to have a AAA.
AAAs do not cause any signs or symptoms until they rupture which is a medical emergency. Around 5,000 men aged 65 and over in England and Wales die from a ruptured AAA every year.
Watch the video below for more information.
Watch the video
Breast screening saves lives
The NHS in England launched a new phase of the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign on 17 February to encourage women living in England to attend their breast screening appointment when invited.
Regular breast screening is one of the best ways to spot a cancer that is too small to feel or see yourself – it saves around 1,300 lives each year in the UK. Spread the word and talk about the campaign with your family friends and community.
Tackling Cancer in Bolton
If you are in Bolton next Friday morning, 28th February, why not pop down to the Wellbeing Hub at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
Our Bee Seen Get Screened pledgers, Bolton Wanderers in the Community are certainly ensuring that health and wellbeing are at the heart of what they do for their staff, fans and the wider community in Bolton.
Keep you eyes open for further events including a ‘Tackling Cancer’ day which will also be held in the Wellbeing Hub on Saturday 15th March.
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Heart of Salford AwardsThe Heart of Salford Awards 2025 are now open for nominations. If you would like to see the award categories, get further information |
This Van Can
A new ‘This Van Can’ Ovarian Cancer Awareness Roadshow in partnership with Target Ovarian Cancer and the Dianne Oxberry Trust, an organisation founded in memory of BBC broadcaster Dianne Oxberry who sadly died from ovarian cancer in 2019.
The van runs 24 Feb to 5 April and the route is due to be as follows: Trafford, Salford, Stockport, Manchester, Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, Tameside, Oldham, Wigan.
This Ovarian Cancer Awareness Roadshow adds to the Bowel Cancer Awareness Roadshow and Heartburn Healthcheck vans.
For more information and the regularly updated timetable click the button below.
Where is This Van Can?
Who’s pledged to the Bee Seen, Get Screened?
Councillor Daalat Ali, portfolio Holder for Public Health at Rochdale Borough Council and Levi Rickell managing director of Rochdale Development agency have signed up to Bee Seen, Get Screened with a promise to allow their staff time off for cancer screening. Together with Answer Cancer they are hoping to persuade other businesses in the area to also make the pledge and together improve screening rates and cancer outcomes across Rochdale.
As well as social media posts about the pledge, which have been liked and shared across the community, they had a banner up in their staff entrance throughout January, so that it was the first thing that people saw. There are posters on the back of the toilet doors in all local authority run buildings and they are sending them out to local small businesses in the area to open up conversations and encourage them to pledge too.
They spoke on Crescent Radio on the 22nd of January, to coincide with Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, about the ways in which the pledge supports cervical cancer prevention.
Answer Cancer, Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency will be working together over the coming months to encourage businesses in the area to sign up to the pledge and improve the cancer outcomes for Rochdale.
Pledge here
If you have any questions or queries please contact us using the link below.
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Engage with Voluntary Sector North West
As one of the four partners in Answer Cancer, Voluntary Sector North West supports the sector “to positively shape the future of the North West”.
If you are a VCFSE organisation interested in engaging with Voluntary Sector North West, we invite you to connect with us. You can join free of charge as either a full member or an associate member, or simply subscribe to our e-bulletin to receive the latest updates and insights about the sector. If you are interested in joining as a member, or would like to join our conference on the 14th November, just follow the links.