Health Inclusion in Action: Martha’s First Year

At Prevent Breast Cancer, we believe in better breast health for every woman, from every community. July marks Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Month, and while breast cancer survival rates have improved across the UK, ethnically diverse and socially deprived communities still face worse access, care and outcomes. This is both unjust and avoidable. While this month offers a vital opportunity for raising awareness, fighting health inequities must be a year-round commitment.

July also marks a year since I began working for Prevent Breast Cancer as Health Inclusion Assistant, and I’ve written this blog to reflect on my experiences so far.

As part of the Health Inclusion Team, I work with diverse communities across Greater Manchester, creating empowering and inclusive spaces where women can learn how to check themselves, recognise the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, understand NHS breast screening, and feel confident advocating for themselves in primary care. In this blog, I want to share a bit about what led me to this role, the biggest lessons I’ve learnt and highlights from my first year of community outreach.

I joined Prevent Breast Cancer’s Health Inclusion Team in August 2025, straight after graduating from the University of Manchester with a BA in History and Politics. From a young age, I’ve always been actively involved in my local community, with a real passion for learning from people whose life experiences differ from my own. Growing up I volunteered with many different communities, such as refugees and asylum seekers, vulnerable adults and disabled children. I carried that commitment into my academic career, championing underprivileged voices and the issues that matter to them, through modules exploring Injustice and Resistance, Migration and African American History.

This dedication to equity, community and empathy was undoubtedly shaped by my parents, who have devoted both their professional and personal lives to these same principles. So, when, in the bedroom of my final-year university house, I saw the opportunity to work for Prevent Breast Cancer as a Health Inclusion Assistant, it just felt right. My first year has been incredible, and I’m so grateful for the chance to connect with and learn from the amazing women from so many different communities.

As part of our community outreach, I’ve delivered breast awareness sessions, run stalls at community hubs and events, supported the development of digital and physical resources and helped facilitate the Community Breast Awareness Café. It’s been an honour to work alongside such a wide variety of communities, including Pakistani, Bengali, Jewish, Black African, Black Caribbean, Turkish, Afghani, Iranian, Refugee and Asylum-seeking, Deaf and Learning Disability communities. Together with our community partners, we’ve ensured our outreach is as accessible and inclusive as possible, communicating in over eleven languages. Experiencing diverse cultures has been a real highlight: sharing traditional food, joining in cultural practices, and picking up words from different languages along the way.

A breast awareness session that was particularly successful and memorable was with an Afghani community group, delivered in partnership with Sanctuary Cookalongs, a refugee-led group that brings communities together through cooking. We co-delivered the session in English and Dari, creating an empowering space for women to learn about how to check themselves, thesigns and symptoms of breast cancer, how to advocate for themselves within health services, and what NHS breast screening involves. We also tackled common myths and spoke about the health inequities faced by ethnically diverse communities. Afterwards, all 35 of us sat together on the floor of the community centre to share a meal of Chicken Pilau. It was a morning of connection and shared learning across cultures, experiences and languages, and one that I definitely won’t forget.

Another personal highlight was our outreach at Longsight Cultural Festival with the Community Breast Awareness Café. The Awareness Café offers free hot drinks, encouraging women to engage in meaningful conversations about breast health in a welcoming, accessible setting. We spoke with hundreds of women, predominantly of South Asian heritage. With support from our Health Inclusion Manager and nurse volunteers from The Nightingale Centre, we communicated with women in five languages.

Most importantly, the Awareness Café enabled us to take our vital messaging around prevention and early detection directly into a community that has traditionally faced significant barriers to accessing healthcare. Longsight is an area of high ethnic diversity, high levels of social deprivation, and persistently low breast screening uptake. It is therefore hugely encouraging that every GP practice in the area saw increased uptake in their most recent breast screening round, with one practice surpassing 80% – the first in Manchester to do so. This demonstrates the impact of outreach that is rooted in community need.

The biggest lesson I’ve learnt from working with Greater Manchester’s beautifully diverse communities is the power of lived experience and community voice. The value of meaningful collaboration with communities, centring their knowledge and expertise, is essential to any work truly committed to equity. I’ve learnt so much from these incredible women, and I feel genuinely grateful for the warmth with which I’ve been welcomed and the relationships we’ve created.

In my second year with the Health Inclusion Team, I’m excited to be leading on the expansion of our community outreach, reaching even more women with vital breast health information. As well as being informed by community voice and lived experience, our outreach is continually evolving according to feedback and insight from the communities we work with. I am looking forward to carrying forward these principles, and to building relationships and learning from even more of Greater Manchester’s ethnically diverse communities.

These women are too often excluded from mainstream healthcare services and messaging, and it has been a privilege to play even a small part in making breast awareness information more accessible, inclusive and culturally tailored. I am truly excited to see what the next year brings, and to continue my learning.