Raising cancer awareness at Faith In Health in Tower Hamlets

North East London Cancer Alliance helped raise awareness of cancer signs and symptoms and cancer screening programmes at a dedicated Faith In Health event in Tower Hamlets on Saturday 21 October 2023.

The event took place in a conference room at the East London Mosque and was organised by Healthwatch Tower Hamlets in partnership with local community organisations. 

North East London Cancer Alliance had an information stall at the event, where we spoke to local residents and handed out key information to help people lower their risk of cancer and to help them understand what support is available to them.

Caroline Cook, Early Diagnosis Programme Lead, North East London Cancer Alliance, said "Engaging with our local communities is so important in helping our local residents to understand the signs and symptoms of cancer and to increase the uptake of bowel, breast and cervical screening.

"Through doing this, our aim is help diagnose cancer sooner when it is easier to treat, which will help save lives. This was an excellent event and we look forward to attending more local events across north east London."

There were a number of presentations on the day from a range of organisations including Macmillan, Barts Health, and London Bangladeshi Partnership.

Also in attendance was the inspirational Errol McKellar from The Errol McKellar Foundation (pictured below) to raise awareness of prostate cancer. Their mission is to try and talk to as many men as possible to ensure they are fully aware of the dangers posed by prostate cancer, its potential symptoms and the available tests.

Errol was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 and since then he has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of prostate cancer and has helped save the lives of almost 50 of his customers who would not otherwise have been aware they had prostate cancer. He as awarded an MBE in 2020.

Patient Engagement

Another reason for us attending events like this is to reach out to patients and residents with experience of cancer, so we can hear their stories, learn from them, and help improve local services.

Diane Gypps, Patient Experience & Engagement Manager, North East London Cancer Alliance, said "We are always looking for more people to join our patient and carer representative group, called Patient and Carer Voice in Cancer. The more closely we work with our local cancer patients and carers, the better we can understand what matters to them and how services can be improved."

More information, including how to join, is on our Patient and Carer Voice in Cancer web pages.