Celebrating International Women’s Day at the East London Mosque

Written by: Paul Thomas

08/03/2024

Last Sunday, 3 March 2024, North East London Cancer Alliance joined a special event hosted by East London branch of Citizens UK (TELCO), East London Mosque, Barts Health and Queen Mary University. This took place at the Maryam Centre, East London Mosque in Tower Hamlets.

Over 200 women attended the event to celebrate local women’s achievements, and many partner organisations were there too, such as Healthwatch, Salvation Army, NHS Diabetes Prevention, and Mind.

Interns for Queen Mary University organised the schedule of events during the day and enacted a scene between a mother and daughter talking about cancer. The performance showed the mother and daughter talking and discussing going to the GP and the daughter supporting her mother to do so. The scene then showed the consultation with the GP and referral.

Diane Gypps, Patient Experience and Engagement Manger for North East London Cancer Alliance, said “This was a fantastic way of getting across a really important message about cancer and getting any symptoms checked by a doctor.

“We encourage more conversations to take place about cancer in the home, as well as in the workplace, so people can support their family and colleagues. Early diagnosis is key, so it’s really important to get any symptoms you are worried about checked as soon as you can.

“We spoke to many Muslim women throughout the day about cancer signs and symptoms, as well as the need to take part in NHS cancer screening programmes. We hope that in doing this we have helped more people to understand what support is there for them and what they can do to help improve their health and wellbeing.”

You Need To Know

North East London Cancer Alliance also promoted its ‘You Need To Know’ campaign. The campaign has recently been shortlisted for an award, along with celebrating its first anniversary.

It aims to increase awareness of womb cancer amongst Black African, Black Caribbean and South Asian women in north east London, as data tells us there is currently a gap in early diagnosis of womb cancer amongst these communities.

The key message of the campaign is that bleeding after the menopause is a key symptom of womb cancer. If anyone does have bleeding after the menopause then they need to see their doctor straight away. It’s unlikely to be anything serious. However, if cancer is found, then the earlier it’s treated, the more successful treatment is.

Watch the You Need To Know campaign video on YouTube.