GM Cancer News

A FORMER headteacher from Greater Manchester who is living with ovarian cancer wants more women to know the signs and symptoms of the cancer. Gill Broom, 62, originally from Bramhall, Stockport, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2020. Gill, who now lives in Clitheroe, is a volunteer with the Dianne Oxberry Trust - a charity focused on raising awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms to people across the North West. Dianne, who was from Greater Manchester and one of the BBC’s longest-serving presenters, sadly died from ovarian cancer on 10 January 2019. Gill found [...]

A mobile health clinic will be arriving in central Wigan to offer past and current smokers aged 55–74 a free Lung Health Check later this month (March). A scanner and clinic will be housed in a mobile unit at Robin Park Leisure Centre and Arena, Loire Drive, Newtown, Wigan, WN5. It will operate 6 days a week (Monday to Saturday) from 8am to 8pm to ensure that appointments are accessible to everyone who’s invited. GP letters will be sent out to smokers and former smokers aged 55-74 years based at doctors surgeries in in the [...]

Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance is delighted to announce that our Workforce and Education Team has been shortlisted for the Digital Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award at the 2024 HSJ Digital Awards. The awards recognise innovative digital projects that transform care delivery, enhance efficiency, and improve patient outcomes. 343 entries have been received for this year’s Digital Awards, with 165 projects and individuals meriting inclusion on the final shortlist. The high volume - and exceptional quality – of applications once again mirrors the impressive levels of innovation and care continually being developed across the UK’s healthcare system. [...]

National Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Day 2024 today (Friday 15 March 2024). To mark the day we spoke with Dawn Turner who is a Rapid Diagnostic Centre Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist at Tameside Macmillan Unit, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care Trust.  Dawn first started her CNS career journey as an associate CNS in 2019 and then entered her current role in 2021. Dawn shared with us her journey to this current role, what inspired her into a career in cancer and what the CNS role means to her. Talk us through your career journey [...]

An exciting agenda has been announced for this year’s Greater Manchester Cancer Conference which takes place on 14 and 15 May 2024 at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate. Speakers will include Dame Cally Palmer, National Cancer Director for NHS England, Dr Manisha Kumar, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Greater Manchester, and Rob Bellingham Director of Primary Care and Strategic Commissioning, NHS Greater Manchester. Day one will also include a keynote session featuring Nicola Nuttall, mother of Laura Nuttall who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Glioblastoma in 2018. The audience will hear the story of Laura’s infamous ‘bucket [...]

Do you know a voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation (VCSE) that would like to help play a part in increasing early cancer diagnosis rates in underserved communities in Greater Manchester? The 10GM Cancer and Inequalities fund is offering grants of up to £5,000 for Greater Manchester-based VCSE organisations to deliver projects that will raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancer and identify and understand the barriers people face when receiving a cancer diagnosis. Early diagnosis is often the key to successfully treating cancer. It can make treatment more simple and less invasive [...]

David Jones-Stanley is a 49-year-old operations director who lives in Wigan. He has been with his husband James for 28 years and the pair have 3 boys – aged 19, 13 and 11. David, who volunteers as a patient representative for the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance was diagnosed with stage 3 food pipe (oesophageal) cancer in October 2021. He didn’t have a lot of the traditional symptoms like heartburn or acid reflux but knew something was wrong when he went to get some ham from the fridge and couldn’t swallow it. He went to his local hospital for an endoscopy [...]

To support World Cancer Day and raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of stomach and gullet cancer (also known as upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancer) in the City of Salford, a new campaign called Stop. Look. Listen… to Your Body has been launched. The campaign aims to educate Salford men over 40 about the importance of being persistent if they notice ongoing symptoms and to encourage them to speak to their GP practice to get checked out. The campaign which launched on World Cancer Day (Sunday 4 February) aims to get people to take action and [...]

A legal secretary from Oldham is urging others to make sure they attend their cervical screening test as she prepares for cancer treatment. Laura Hope, 35, from Failsworth, went for her cervical screening appointment (also known as a smear test) at her GP practice in October last year. A few weeks later she got a letter informing her that the test had shown high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) and some abnormal cells. To mark Cervical Cancer Prevention Week Laura Hope speaks about her cervical cancer diagnosis. Laura was then sent on to The Royal [...]