Dedication of cancer champions celebrated

A celebration was held to mark the milestone of more than 400 volunteers recruited and trained to act as Cancer Champions – the figure now stands at 450 – in a project run by Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, and Oswestry-based Qube, with NHS Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin support.

The idea being to help generate more early cancer diagnoses by raising awareness about the signs and symptoms of cancer – through a volunteer force of people simply engaging with their peers about it.

More than 50 volunteers and health colleagues from the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care Board (ICB), Powys Teaching Health Board, other voluntary organisations, and supporters attended the event organised by the charity Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, which has taken on sole funding for the work across the region.

The success of the project has also been recognised at a host of regional awards – being finalists in both the Shropshire Business Chamber Awards, and upcoming Powys Business Awards.

Miranda Ashwell, LiveLife Project Lead at Lingen Davies, said: “We are thrilled to have the chance to mark the continued success of this work, the fantastic people who have volunteered to be trained as cancer champions and our colleagues in healthcare who recognise the importance of the project.

“Cancer Champions make such a difference in their communities across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, and Mid Wales and start conversations with people in all walks of life. They are helping others to spot the signs of cancer early and helping to save lives, the impact they have should not be underestimated.

“We now have more than 450 people trained and it looks like that number will, thankfully, keep growing.”

Lingen Davies launched the Powys Cancer Champions project in its own right in early 2023 and more than 200 volunteers have been trained in the county.

In Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, NHS funding came to end in April, when Lingen Davies took on sole funding, but the project has been so successful the ICB has announced another £50,000 of funding to further the programme.

The celebration was held at the Trinity Centre, Meole Village, Shrewsbury last month and speakers included Miranda Ashwell and her colleagues from Lingen Davies, CEO Naomi Atkin and Powys Cancer Champion Coordinator Helen Davies.

Presentations were also given by Miranda Mihkelson, Macmillan Communications and Engagement Lead in Powys, Holly Corrigan, Wellbeing and Befriending Lead at Qube in Oswestry, and Nigel Robb, Head of Offender Management HMP Stoke Heath where Cancer Champions training has been delivered.

Several cancer champion volunteers took the podium as well as Telford Cancer Champion military personnel Johnny Bradley, Lead Lung Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust Julia McAdam and Kate Manning, Communications and Engagement Lead, currently focussed on Targeted Lung Health Checks in Shropshire.

In addition, Alex Mace, Health Inequalities Manager at NHS Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, discussed the changes made because of feedback from Cancer Champions, including FIT Tests being delivered to GP practices instead of a fixed home address.

Alex said: “It was a privilege to speak at the Cancer Champions celebratory event and reflect on the fantastic achievements made over the last 18 months. As a member of the Healthcare Inequalities Team for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin NHS, I am committed to narrowing the gap between the health outcomes of different groups in our communities.

“A key priority in doing this is to understand and learn from the experiences of our seldom-heard communities. The feedback of our Cancer Champions has already started to shape how healthcare services are being delivered through developing the information healthcare staff use, which has resulted in better support for people to access life-saving health checks and screening.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Cancer Champions to tackle inequality and ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to receive health care.”