Shoppers given important cancer information by Albion in the Community
More than 1,000 shoppers visited a set of giant inflatable lungs in Churchill Square as Albion in the Community (AITC) shared vital information about lung health.
Members of AITC’s Speak Up Against Cancer team spent the day talking to shoppers as part of its campaign to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of a range of different cancers.
And they were joined by Kirsty Barton, from Brighton & Hove Albion’s FA Women’s Super League squad, and the club’s official mascot Gully. Lung cancer nurse specialists from Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and staff from the Healthy Lifestyles and Public Health teams at Brighton & Hove City Council also volunteered at the event.
A total of 1,148 people visited the inflatable display, including 63 people who took a lung health test. A dozen people committed to reducing the amount they smoked, while eight smokers agreed to stop completely, or join a local stop smoking group to help them eventually quit.
Visitors to the inflatable lungs were able to find out potentially vital information on how to keep their lungs healthy and spot the early signs and symptoms of lung cancer.
Sue Brown, Albion in the Community’s Speak Up Against Cancer co-ordinator, said: “It was fantastic to have so many people visit our display – particularly those who subsequently decided to address their smoking or make other changes towards healthier lungs.
“Our thanks go to everyone who came along and to Churchill Square for providing us with such a superb space in which to engage people.”
The event was part of AITC’s wider work in Brighton and Hove which aims to increase local early detection rates of a range of different cancers. In the last 12 months alone, AITC’s Speak Up Against Cancer team has shared potentially life-saving information with more than 17,000 people.
These face-to-face meetings took place at 114 different public events – an average of one public workshop attended by the AITC team every three days.
AITC’s next Speak Up Against Cancer event focuses on cervical screening and takes place at Wellsbourne Health Centre, in Whitehawk Road, on Saturday 17 November between 10am and 1pm.
The team would particularly like to speak to anyone who has missed their most recent screening appointment, or who has any concerns they would like to discuss. There is also the opportunity for people to have a cervical screening appointment on the day.
There will be free refreshments, Lush cosmetics giveaways, and advice on menopause, HRT and sexual health.
For more information on Speak Up Against Cancer, which is commissioned by Brighton & Hove City Council Public Health and NHS Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group, call: 01273 878261 or email: speakup@bhafcfoundation.org.uk.