Role: Community Engagement & Development Lead
Describe what you do day to day? As part of the Answer Cancer programme we engage with local disadvantaged communities to raise awareness of the three NHS cancer screening programmes – bowel, cervical and breast cancer. We do this by running awareness sessions with groups and by holding information stalls at various community events. Our key objective is to encourage individuals to attend and partake in cancer screening appointments, where there’s typically low uptake.
Fulfilling aspect of the role: The idea that you could be making a positive difference in someone’s life and that early detection could potentially save someone’s life is very fulfilling. The number of people who say they’ve not been for screening or have ignored appointments is very high. Therefore, when you reach the point of having encouraged individuals who would not have otherwise done so, to attend/participate, it is very rewarding. The team have had feedback from individuals, who due to our intervention, have had cancer detected and they appreciated the info they received which led them to having their screening done. It’s also great to have the opportunity to discuss the barriers faced by different groups, and to then address ways in which to overcome some of these.
Greatest achievements? Forging links and partnerships with some communities can be challenging but when we succeed at this it can have a very positive impact. Building a rapport and trust within communities is paramount especially as cancer is a sensitive topic and for some communities it’s a taboo topic. This is where the years of experience and expertise of the team are vital in ensuring we use the right approach for the different groups we work with.
Challenges? Some people we meet have a fixed mindset and are not open to hearing about the benefits of screening, so we try to be as encouraging as possible whilst being empathetic towards their views. Sometimes people who share their personal experiences of cancer can get quite emotional, so we try to be sensitive towards this and share details of where they can get support where needed.
Anything coming up? We always have sessions in the pipeline across Greater Manchester. We are working closely with a partnership working group looking to increase the uptake of cancer screening in Moss Side, Hulme and Rusholme with the African (Somali in particular) and Caribbean communities. We sit on committees and working groups to advise and get involved in joint working too.