GM Cancer News

A 23-year-old woman from Salford is urging others not to dismiss worrying symptoms after her stomach pains turned out to be bowel cancer. Martha had surgery to remove her appendix and one-third of her large bowel to remove a cancerous tumour. Martha Dickson initially believed she was badly constipated when she began experiencing persistent abdominal pain. But after more than a week of discomfort that became so severe it left her in tears, she called NHS 111 and was told to go straight to A&E. After tests at Salford Royal Hospital, Martha was diagnosed with [...]

Women in Bury, Salford, Oldham, Heywood, Middleton, and Rochdale who experience bleeding after menopause can now book hospital check-ups online without needing a GP appointment. A new online self-referral tool will help woman who experience post-menopausal bleeding. Launching 2 April 2026, a new self-assessment tool will be available for women who have gone through menopause (had no periods for 12 months or more) and are not on HRT. Users complete a quick online questionnaire about their symptoms and family history. Based on responses, they may be fast-tracked for hospital tests at Salford Royal Hospital such [...]

A Tameside woman is urging others to listen to their bodies and seek medical advice if something doesn’t feel right, after discovering she had ovarian cancer following months of bloating and feeling unusually full. Catherine, 73, from Tameside, is sharing her experience as part of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month this March. Now recovering from treatment for stage 3 ovarian cancer, Catherine says she is doing well and attends regular check-ups — but wants her story to help others catch the disease sooner. Just a few years ago, Catherine was active and fit, regularly going to the [...]

A group of people from Greater Manchester who have all cared for loved ones going through cancer have written and recorded a new audio story called “With Dad” to demonstrate the emotional, practical and often unseen realities of caring for someone with cancer.   Carer representatives from the Greater Manchester Cancer Voices community have worked on the new audio story to help raise awareness of the role of carers in caring for cancer patients. The carer representatives, who are members of the Greater Manchester Cancer Voices Community, teamed up with Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance and Made By Mortals [...]

Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance is helping to fund a new UK first model of children’s cancer treatment, delivering chemotherapy and supportive cancer treatments on a mobile cancer care unit that will be based in the North West as part of a pilot. The pioneering children’s mobile cancer care  unit becomes the first of it’s kind in the UK and will service children undergoing cancer treatment in Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside and Lancashire and South Cumbria thanks to Alliance funding The new service will be run by North West Children’s Cancer Operational Delivery Network [...]

A MUM-OF-TWO is encouraging women to listen to their bodies and not blame menopausal symptoms after being diagnosed with cervical cancer. When Alicia Clarke, 43, first started experiencing symptoms of cervical cancer including vaginal discharge and severe exhaustion which she put down to the menopause and taking HRT medication. Alicia had previously had a subtotal hysterectomy, which involves only the body of the uterus being removed but not the cervix. This means she continued to need routine cervical smear tests. But when the symptoms got worse, she went to her GP for a check-up. She [...]

An innovative cancer screening programme in Greater Manchester has led to a significant reduction in cases of late stage lung cancer according to an evaluation published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.   The published findings demonstrate that despite only screening 2% of the population in part of Greater Manchester, the programme has identified 31% of all diagnosed cases of lung cancer in the area, and has led to a 22% reduction of late stage diagnosis. The screening programme is currently being rolled out to all residents who are current or former smokers and aged between 55 and 74, with [...]

The National Cancer Plan has been released today, 4th February 2026 Today Wednesday 4 February the Government published its National Cancer Plan. Our Medical Director Susannah Penney and Managing Director Claire O’Rourke have blogged about how Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance will play a crucial role in delivering this plan. The NHS Cancer Plan was published today on World Cancer Day. It is a plan set to transform cancer treatment, prevention and diagnosis and make England a world-leader in cancer survival. The plan focuses on three main strands: diagnosing cancer earlier and at greater scale; restoring and sustaining performance [...]

Current and former smokers who are registered with a GP in Altrincham will be offered NHS lung cancer screening from mid-February 2026. The NHS will be offering free lung health checks which can help find lung cancer at an early stage when it is much more treatable to help save lives. The quick checks are for people aged 55 to 74 who smoke or used to smoke registered with the following GP practices in Altrincham Healthcare Alliance Primary Care Network: Park Medical Practice WA15 7XR Altrincham Medical Practice WA14 2DD Shay Lane Medical Centre (Kelman) WA15 8NZ West Timperley Medical [...]

Primary schools in Greater Manchester are being invited to sign up to a free Sun Safe Schools programme – helping pupils stay safe in the sun and cutting their future risk of skin cancer. The call comes from the NHS Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, which has teamed up with national skin cancer charity Skcin to encourage schools to gain the Sun Safe Schools accreditation in time for the warmer months. Children spend nearly half of their childhood in school – and around eight hours a week outdoors. Without proper protection like shade, sunscreen and sun-safe habits, young skin can burn [...]