Promoting Health Inclusion
We believe that a woman’s chance of survival should not be determined by socioeconomic status or ethnicity, and that’s why addressing health inequalities is at the core of our mission.
Why Addressing Health Inequalities Matters
Personal Stories: The Necessity of Continued Outreach and Awareness Initiatives
“My friend stopped talking to me. If I saw her in the street she would cross over the road. Her children stopped talking to my children. It was then that I realised … she thought she might catch breast cancer from me. It was like I was untouchable. I felt so isolated.”
“I didn’t see the GP for ages because I was scared- not about having breast cancer but about telling people. By the time I built up the courage, they told me it had spread. I was so scared. I had to tell my family at that point- I needed help, but I didn’t get it…. They disowned me. I am on my own.”
“I am the only one who knows about my Mum’s diagnosis – I have even had to keep it a secret from my siblings. I take her to her appointments but she won’t discuss anything with me afterwards. She is trying to act like nothing has happened. She doesn’t want anyone to know.”
Addressing Health Inequalities: Our Work
We know that certain communities face disproportionate barriers to accessing information around prevention and early detection, screening services and care. Therefore, we are taking proactive steps to address these disparities:
Dedicated Health Inequalities Team
Our Health Inequalities Team is on the ground working with diverse communities across Greater Manchester to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, the importance of self-examination, and the importance of early detection and attending routine breast screening appointments.
Community Awareness & Education
Our team works to challenge myths and misconceptions by creating an inclusive space to help women from ethnic communities feel empowered. Through breast awareness sessions, stalls and events in community settings, women from underserved communities can ask questions, share their experiences and learn why early detection saves lives. Our awareness sessions are tailored to diverse cultural groups, and are continuously improved based on community insights.
Health Inequalities Researchers Roundtable
In March 2025, we held our Researchers Roundtable, which brought together experts in breast cancer prevention and early diagnosis, to explore how research can address persistent disparities in breast cancer outcomes. It provided a platform for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and action-focused discussion.
Health Inequalities Community Roundtable
In September 2025, we held our Community Roundtable, bringing together community groups and service providers involved in breast cancer awareness and early detection across Greater Manchester. By centring and empowering community voice and strengthening collaboration, attendees developed tangible actions and a clear starting point for meaningful, lasting change.
Mobile Community Awareness Hub
Our converted horsebox is taken into underserved communities to help empower women to take control of their breast health. Over a free hot drink, we engage in
friendly conversations around being breast aware, including the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and the importance of attending breast screening. We target ethnically diverse areas where breast screening uptake is low, encouraging valuable interactions and improving access to crucial information.
Health Inequalities Resource Hub
Our Health Inequalities Resource Hub is a place where you can find useful information about breast cancer prevention and early diagnosis. We welcome community groups and health professionals to share this information.
Addressing Health Inequalities: Our Impact
We have heard directly from women who have felt empowered to book and attended breast screening appointments after attending a Breast Awareness session run by our Health Inequalities team. Through these sessions and other community-driven events, we have reached thousands of women from ethnically diverse communities and empowered them to take control of their beast health.
The launch event of our Mobile Community Awareness Hub at ASDA Longsight in July 2025 was hugely successful, generating over 60 same-day visits to the mobile breast screening unit located on-site, and over 400 overall interactions. Breast screening uptake in Longsight is far below the national average, demonstrating both the necessity and the impact of community outreach initiatives.
For the first time in Longsight, where a majority of our outreach work has focussed, more women than ever are attending their breast screenings; breast screening services have now stopped their previous system of double-booking appointments (due to low uptake). Recent data shows that all GP practices in Longsight have seen their breast screening uptake increase in their latest round.
We work to ensure that language is never a barrier to accessing information. We deliver Breast Awareness Sessions and create educational resources in multiple languages. Our Urdu language video on self examination published in October 2025 has reached over 1500 women already.
Funding: Show your Support
At Prevent Breast Cancer, we believe that no woman or community is ever “hard to reach.”
Our mission is to achieve equitable breast cancer awareness, prevention, and early diagnosis for every woman, from every community.
Funding enables us to create accessible resources and deliver inclusive, culturally sensitive awareness sessions that empower women in underserved communities to take charge of their breast health. It will also allow us to expand our Mobile Community Awareness Hub across all ten Greater Manchester boroughs and deepen partnerships with grassroots organisations.
For more information about funding opportunities, please contact Eva@preventbreastcancer.org.uk.
About Prevent Breast Cancer
Prevent Breast Cancer is the only UK charity entirely dedicated to the prediction and prevention of breast cancer – we’re committed to freeing the world from the disease altogether. Unlike many cancer charities, we’re focused on preventing, rather than curing. Promoting early diagnosis, screening and lifestyle changes, we believe we can stop the problem before it starts. And being situated at the only breast cancer prevention centre in the UK, we’re right at the front-line in the fight against the disease. Join us today and help us create a future free from breast cancer. If you have any questions or concerns, email us today.
