The head of medical services at Brighton & Hove Albion is encouraging people to take up cancer screening when offered to help ensure early detection rates do not drop during the pandemic.
The earlier a cancer is detected, the more chance doctors have of successfully treating it. In fact, in many cancers, around 90% of cases can be successfully treated if found at an early stage.
However, a recent nationwide survey revealed nearly 50% of people would have concerns about seeking help from the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to fears within the NHS that early detection rates could decline over the coming weeks.
Adam Brett has teamed up with the club’s official charity, Albion in the Community, to highlight the importance of screening.
As part of its Speak Up Against Cancer campaign, Albion in the Community will focus on promoting three types of screening: bowel cancer screening during November; breast cancer screening throughout December; and cervical cancer screening at the start of 2021.
The key message from Albion in the Community is: if you are offered screening, or are due a screening test, make sure you take it up; it could save your life.
It was a message endorsed by Brett, who said: “Research shows the earlier a cancer is discovered, the more likely it is to be successfully treated, which is why screening is so important.
“If you are offered a screening test please do take up the offer or contact your GP to arrange one. It could save your life. It is also important that if you notice any unusual changes in your health, you contact your GP”
Albion in the Community's Speak Up Against Cancer campaign, which is funded by NHS Brighton & Hove Clinical Commissioning Group and Brighton & Hove City Council Public Health, has been helping to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of different cancers locally since it launched in 2016. It has also been promoting the importance of screening, with volunteers sharing their individual experiences of cancer. A recurring theme is the relief volunteers felt in catching their cancer early and the role that early diagnosis played in their successful treatment.
Sue Brown is health manager at the charity. She said: “The NHS is still very much open for business and inviting people who are due for screening to take part in the bowel, breast and cervical screening programmes. We are working very closely with the screening services to encourage people who are due for screening, to take part, as it can pick up cancers at an early stage, when there are no signs or symptoms.
“It is really important people get screened if they are asked to or, if they think they are due screening, but haven't heard anything, they get in touch with their GP.”
For more information on what bowel, breast, and cervical screening involves – including personal testimonies from people discussing their own experiences of different screening tests – visit: www.speakupagainstcancer.org.
Currently, Albion in the Community is offering online workshops with businesses, community groups, and other local organisations with a focus on the importance of NHS screening programmes in the early detection of cancer. Please email speakup@albioninthecommunity.org.uk for more information.