Winner

Be Clear on Cancer campaigns 2012/13 – Supporting earlier diagnosis of cancer

by Department of Health

Be Clear on Cancer was created to support earlier diagnosis and improve cancer survival rates. Subsequently the Department of Health, along with key stakeholders, has been delivering a programme of campaigns to raise public awareness of cancer symptoms.

Television advertisements, radio, press and face-to-face events have been used to focus on lung and bowel cancer at a national level; kidney/bladder and breast cancer in women over 70 at a regional level; and ovarian, oesophago-gastric and Know4sure – highlighting 4 key symptoms of many different cancers – locally.

All the campaigns are rigorously evaluated and results show that awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer is raised, more people visit their GP, there has been an increase in urgent referrals and a shift towards earlier diagnosis. 

Further campaigns are planned for 2013/14 and 2014/15.

Judges’ comments

Highly commended

10 minutes to save a life: A series of GP education films and resource kits made by clinicians for clinicians

by Mount Vernon Cancer Network

The initiative consists of educational films and resources to raise awareness among primary care professionals of the signs and symptoms of specific types of cancer. Since GPs have limited time, each film is no more than 10-12 minutes and four films have been made to date – bowel, ovarian, skin, head and neck – and two more, lung and prostate, are in production.  

Each film is supported by a Resource Kit, which provides more detail and more local information. These kits include contact details of multidisciplinary team members at local hospitals and each Film and Resource Kit is distributed to every practice in Hertfordshire and South Bedfordshire. They are also available online.

Feedback from Network-organised events is positive but the team does not yet have a full formal evaluation process in place.