A woman who survived cancer has spoken about how an early diagnosis saved her life.
Irene Ashworth had stage two breast cancer diagnosed in February 2020.
She said: “The best protection is early detection. I was prompted to check my breasts by my nurse at a routine smear test and I found a distinct lump straight away.
“Thinking back, I’d been feeling some unusual sensations in my breast but thought no more about it. Those few words by a friendly encouraging nurse saved my life.
“I’m passionate about using my experience in a positive way and helping others increase their body awareness and reduce their fears. We all need the inner strength to take those first steps.”
She was speaking at the Trust for Developing Communities (TDC) annual meeting at the Brighthelm Centre this week, having volunteered to help reach out to others.
The Trust is leading a new partnership, Act on Cancer Together, to try to improve the uptake of cancer screening in Brighton and Hove’s more deprived communities.
The partnership offers workshops in workplaces and is looking at ways to increase the number of people keeping their screening appointments.
It includes one-to-one support for people who need extra help to attend appointments or who need extra emotional support.
And it will build on work by the Hangleton and Knoll Project to reach people from communities that tend to have lower rates of take up for screening.
The Project seconded a staff member to a doctors’ surgery to phone patients and encourage them to attend their screening appointments.
Act on Cancer Together is aimed at raising awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancer as well as improving access to support when people are told that they have cancer.
Those running the scheme also hope to improve survival rates and the quality of life for cancer patients in the target groups, reducing health inequalities.
As well as the TDC, the partnership includes the Hangleton and Knoll Project and Macmillan Cancer Support, with funding from Brighton and Hove City Council and the new integrated care board NHS Sussex.
Act on Cancer Together project leader Marie Benton said: “We’re going to be working with communities to design and then deliver marketing campaigns.
“That will be about finding out from communities what their insights are into the barriers to screening and attending GP appointments, then working with them to adapt it to be accessible.
“We’ll be out having conversations in communities – sharing information, awareness and learning – and to do this we have a fantastic team of volunteers many of whom have survived cancer themselves.”
To volunteer, to ask questions about screening or to book a workshop, contact the Trust for Developing Communities on info@trustdevcom.org.uk or 01273 234769.
