NHS national cancer bus visits Newham

Following World Cancer Day and as part of a national cancer awareness campaign, an NHS double-decker bus visited Newham to help raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer. The key aim was to encourage people to visit their GP for potentially lifesaving checks.

Alongside this, we also had information stalls at the East London Mosque and the Royal London Hospital. At each location, a mix of cancer staff, colleagues from cancer awareness organisation Community Links, volunteers, and patients spoke to the public about cancer symptoms, screening and the importance of speaking to your doctor. We spoke to well over 1,000 people and are planning more events in the coming months.

A man is standing in front of a blue double-decker NHS bus

Jay McLaughlin from Tower Hamlets (pictured above) is a member of the North East London Cancer Alliance Patient and Carer Voice in Cancer group and was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer in January 2021. As a fitness fanatic, he knew his symptoms of feeling gassy and bloated were unusual, however he attributed it to either diet or stress. When the problem persisted, Jay booked a GP appointment. After an initial consultation and testing, he was immediately referred to the Royal London Hospital where he was diagnosed with bowel cancer – with the same rare mutation that Dame Deborah James also had.

Following treatment, Jay received the all-clear in January 2022, but just a month later, Jay started to get a twisting feeling in his liver. By the end of May, he was told he had a 5cm tumour on his liver (which later grew to 12cm) and was referred to St Barts for treatment. Jay is now undergoing a new form of treatment. Jay is passionate about encouraging people to contact their GP as early as possible to ensure their cancers can be treated at an earlier stage and have better outcomes.

He said “I received amazing life-saving treatment from my local NHS staff and I wanted to give something back which will help many others benefit. Talking to residents about my experience will hopefully encourage them to come forward and get checked.”

A lady is standing in front of a blue double-decker NHS bus

Fiona Martin from Waltham Forest (pictured above), who is also a member of our patient group, was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2021, after finding a lump in her breast. Having previously found two lumps and receiving the all-clear on both occasions, Fiona was familiar with the process. It soon became clear that things were different this time round and a week after her biopsy, Fiona was informed that it was cancer and was referred to St Barts. Soon after, she saw a surgeon for treatment, went through chemotherapy, had a mastectomy with reconstructive breast surgery, then radiotherapy.

She is now cancer-free and other than a monthly injection and a daily tablet to prevent oestrogen production, is living life as normally as she can.

Fiona said “I want to encourage people to do the same as me and seek help if you find something which isn’t quite right. Whether it is a new lump, as in my case, or an unexplained pain, please speak to your doctor so something can be done about it.”

Three women are standing behind a table with cancer information leaflets on it.

This advice was echoed by Dr Angela Wong, Chief Medical Officer for the North East London Cancer Alliance. She said: “We know that there are still people out there with signs and symptoms of cancer who are yet to be diagnosed. We urge anyone who spots anything like unexplained weight loss, a cough which lasts for more than three weeks, a new lump, or blood in their poo or urine, to speak to their doctor.

“The good news in north east London is that we have a range of new facilities to help spot cancer sooner, when treatment is more likely to be effective. We have already seen a big impact of the Early Diagnosis Centre at Mile End Hospital, which provides capacity for an extra 16,500 procedures a year. This has reduced waiting times and helped us to remove the backlog for endoscopy. Our new MRI suite means we can now deliver an extra 4,500 scans a year too.

“On top of this, we have also secured £30m in funding, as well as an increase in our workforce, to develop one-stop Community Diagnostic Centres at Mile End and Barking Community hospitals, which will provide rapid access to tests for all residents across north east London”

People are walking in front of a blue double-decker NHS bus.