As you may know, July was Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Month. This was a great opportunity to discuss how everyone can be affected by cancer, regardless of background, and how we can tackle the barriers and cultural issues which sometimes prevent people from accessing cancer services, including diagnosis and treatment.

Throughout the month, here at Answer Cancer we have been sharing messages and information specifically around cancer screening, as we know that participation rates are lower within some communities. We want people to understand that screening is for everyone, regardless of background, and that early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment and saving lives.

We were delighted to see our Organisational Cancer Champions sharing similar messages with their service users during July.  We were particularly pleased to join Positive Women Empowerment at a fun community event in Gorton Park to mark the end of Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Month.

As a programme, Answer Cancer will be using the lessons and learning gathered during Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Month throughout the rest of the year. This includes providing information and advice in formats which are both accessible and culturally sensitive, for example leaflets and videos translated into community languages.

We have also recently launched our latest grants round, where BAME Communities are one of our priority groups for funding of up to £5,000.

Answer Cancer looks forward to working with our communities to create equality of cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment.