Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week – 3rd July 2010 to 10th July 2010

Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness week (EMCAW) is approaching fast.  We will be doing all we can to raise awareness of cancer within ethnic minority communities and would love it if you could join us.

Cancer affects everyone,   however, we know that some ethnic groups are more at risk of certain cancers than others.   For example, African-Caribbean men are three times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than white men, mouth cancer is more common among South Asian communities and liver cancer is higher among Bangladeshi and Chinese communities.   In addition to this, awareness of cancer and uptake of some cancer services is lower in ethnic minority communities.   All this can result in poorer survival for ethnic minorities.

We believe something needs to be done about this and we would like your help to do it.   Please visit our Resource and Information Link to download the pack and think about what you can do over the next few months to raise awareness of cancer in your community.

In the pack you will find all sorts of ideas for different events you could organise as well as useful hints and tips on how to run a successful event,   how to work with the media to promote your event and how to get local celebrities and MP’s to support you.  You will also find information leaflets from a number of our partner charities and a form to order more information for your event.

By supporting and taking part in Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Week you will be working to raise awareness of cancer in your own community and empowering individuals to take up the services available to them.

We look forward to working with you.

Kind regards,

The Ethnic Minority Cancer Week Alliance

If you're from a south Asian background and you live in the UK, you're more likely than people from other communities to have certain health conditions.

This is also the case for some mixed-race people of south Asian descent. The term ‘south Asian’ in these articles refers to anyone of Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani or Sri Lankan origin. Each of these communities has its own unique culture and background, but they all share some common health issues.

Diabetes and heart disease

People from south Asian communities can be up to six times more likely to have diabetes than the general population. Pakistani women are especially at risk. The death rate from coronary heart disease is higher among south Asian men and women who were born outside the UK than it is among the general population. Experts aren’t sure why this is the case, but it may be linked to diet, lifestyle and different ways of storing fat in the body.

For more info please visit http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/SouthAsianhealth/Pages/Overview.aspx

Source: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/SouthAsianhealth/

Did you know that after many years, of having to refer to American studies, we now have UK evidence to confirm that men of African descent are nearly three times more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer? An East London study prepared the way for a larger DH funded study. We are reliably informed that one of the UK Cancer registries have not only confirmed this, but found surprisingly that some South Asian men living in England also have a slightly increased risk. Asian men were generally thought to experience lower rates of prostate cancer in their communities,  Chinese men according to the cancer registry ,still have much lower prostate cancer rates in comparison to the general white UK population

Source: http://www.bmecancer.co.uk

If more than one close family member is affected by the same type of cancer, or cancers that are related, e.g. cancer of the ovary and breast cancer. it could be due to inherited genes, also known as a family history of cancer. This does not mean that every member of the family will be affected. Even if a family history exists there may be treatments, and other helps that can significantly reduce the chances of developing cancer. Any concerns should be discussed with a qualified health professional. (GP or nurse at local health centre, or call a recognised telephone helpline, answered by qualified staff.). For further information search links from home page. Type family history in the search box of recommended websites to find related information.

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