FEATURE
EDUCATION IS KEY
Professor Gordon Wishart, Professor of cancer surgery and Medical Director at Check4Cancer, explores the crucial role cancer awareness and screening programmes in the workplace play in raising awareness of cancer.
Incidences of cancer are steadily rising with latest estimates suggesting that over 750,000 people of working age are living with a cancer diagnosis in the UK.
The likelihood of getting the disease during your lifetime stands at one in three, but is already one in two for those born after 1960, according to Cancer Research UK. A 50% risk of cancer is an issue that none of us can afford to ignore, and increasingly, employers – wise to the threat cancer poses – are finding ways to try to pre- empt the disease.
The good news is that we are getting better at treating cancer, with more people than ever surviving the disease. The key to this successful treatment is early intervention, and that often depends on individuals having a sound understanding of the disease, its symptoms, and their own personal risk.
Early interventions are taking place at insurance group Zurich, which has turned to Check4Cancer, a Cambridge- based, clinician-led organisation specialising in the implementation of cancer awareness and screening programmes in the workplace. The objective for Zurich was to increase the awareness of specific cancers such as breast, skin and prostate across their UK workforce and to help people understand how to detect the early signs of cancer.
Earlier this year Check4Cancer delivered presentations on the different types of cancer to Zurich’s employees based at different locations across the UK. Typically awareness raising campaigns focus on one specific cancer, sometimes focusing on gender bias, age or working conditions of staff. Zurich took a different approach
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covering as many types of cancer as possible, including bowel, breast, cervical, lung, prostate and skin cancers as part of their employee awareness programme.
Initially Zurich focused on helping employees to spot the signs of skin, breast and prostate cancer but then extended the programme to include some bowel, cervical and lung presentations too in light of positive feedback on the initial presentations.
Skin cancer, along with breast, prostate, bowel, cervical and lung cancer are the six most common cancers, affecting both men and women, young and old – and, taken together, account for around 85% of all cancers in the UK.
Typically, Check4Cancer implement their awareness campaigns via a range of media tailored to the client’s need. In addition to clear, basic information, the websites can feature illustrative videos, FAQs, and interactive activities where participants can share experiences. Crucially they also include online questionnaires providing measurable outcomes of the campaigns.
Whilst work is underway to measure the specific health outcomes, the online questionnaires from Zurich employees proved the initial presentations were valued. The results showed 100% of attendees felt the presentations covered everything that had been expected and were a good use of time.
100% of attendees agreed that the information helped them better understand particular cancers and 89% said they would attend more presentations on different cancers.
The results show a strong desire on the part of employees for more information and support.
In fact, a recent survey among HR professionals revealed that 95% were in favour of universal cancer checks provided by employers, with annual checking for all staff, while 63% actively plan to introduce cancer awareness programmes and/or early detection programmes in their organisation.
Great potential exists for businesses to challenge the threat posed by cancer and it does not have to involve radical action. It may be as simple as providing the right information in the right way. What people do not know, they cannot react to. By providing awareness of cancer, we hope that people may become empowered to self-diagnose cancer and thereby save lives.
www.check4cancer.com
www.tomorrowshs.com
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