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 promoting health inclusion is at the core of our mission.
Why Health Inclusion Matters
Personal Stories:
“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.”
Our Community Outreach Activities
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:
Health Inclusion Team
Our Health Inclusion 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.
Breast Awareness Sessions
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.
Community Breast Awareness Café
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 Inclusion Resource Hub
Our Health Inclusion 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.
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 Inclusion 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.
Through community outreach in Longsight, an area where breast screening uptake was significantly below the national average, we engaged more than 700 people having a stall at Longsight Market, and our Community Breast Awareness Café at ASDA Longsight and Longsight Cultural Festival. Our activities supported over 60 visits to the mobile screening unit, helped secure more than 30 screening appointments, and were amplified through partnerships with 23 local businesses.
Our outreach has had a significant impact. In Longsight, every GP practice recorded increased breast screening uptake in the latest screening round. One practice exceeded 80% uptake, becoming the first in Manchester to reach this milestone.
We work to ensure that language is never a barrier to breast health information. In 2025, we delivered Breast Awareness Sessions in 10 languages. We launched a breast self-examination video in Urdu in October and an Arabic version will be released for Ethnic Minority Cancer Awareness Month in July 2026. We have also created patient story videos featuring women from diverse communities sharing their experiences of breast cancer, helping to raise awareness through trusted, relatable voices.
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 Community Breast Awareness Café 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.
