Stopping the stigma - breast cancer screening for minority ethnic women
Summary
We worked with Womenn, Macmillan Cancer Support, and the NHS, to host a culturally inclusive workshop to encourage women, to attend cancer screening appointments.
The session, attended by eight women, focused on raising awareness about breast, cervical, and bowel cancer screenings, addressing stigma, and providing accessible information in Mirpuri.
Discussions highlighted barriers such as cultural taboos, mistrust in healthcare, and lack of awareness about screenings, especially among women from Pakistan.
Attendees explored resources, learned about symptoms, and shared the importance of discussing cancer openly within families.
Key findings
- Cultural stigma and embarrassment prevent many women, especially in Asian communities, from attending cancer screening appointments.
- Accessible information in different languages and formats is crucial to improve awareness and participation in screenings.
- Misdiagnoses can lead to mistrust in healthcare services, discouraging people from seeking timely medical help.
- Cancer awareness events for men are recommended, as they can also be affected and play a role in encouraging family members to attend screenings.
Downloads
If you need the reports in a different format, please email hello@healthwatchdudley.co.uk or call 03000 111 001.
“We need to share breast cancer information with our sons, husbands and dads as they can get it too.”
