Nurses and volunteers from the Your Cancer Awareness Hub will be based at The Hardshaw Centre on Thursdays between 10am and 4.00pm on June 21, July 19, August 16 and August 30, September 13, October 11, October 25, November 8 and November 22.
The team is dedicated to helping people know how to reduce the risk of cancer and help spot it early.
Previously based at the Millennium Centre, the hub is a free service run by nurses offering visitors information on making positive lifestyle changes like stopping smoking, drinking less alcohol, and keeping a healthy weight.
Visitors can turn up on the day without an appointment or attend fortnightly for up to six repeat visits to get ongoing support or to talk about cancer and pick up information.
Nurses also encourage people to go to their GP with any concerns. Picking cancer up at an earlier stage means treatment is more likely to be successful.
Around 1,100 people are diagnosed with cancer in St Helens every year* and around 500 people die from cancer in St Helens every year**.
But experts estimate around 4 in 10 cases of cancer could be prevented in the UK, largely through healthier lifestyles.
Helen Higham, Cancer Research UK’s Senior Cancer Awareness Nurse for the North West, said: “We look forward to getting information out to as many people as possible as they go about their busy lives.
“We’ve made the decision to move the Cancer Awareness Hub to The Hardshaw Centre as it’s a busy shopping centre where we’ll be able to see lots of people.
“The Hub is a chance for us to talk to people about steps they can take to help reduce their risk of cancer through changes like stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake or being more active.
“As well as providing leaflets, we can also carry out Smokerlyzer tests to show how much carbon monoxide is in someone’s breath – and body mass index (BMI) tests to show someone if they are in a healthy weight range.”
The Hub is part of Cancer Research UK’s continued programme to make health information as accessible as possible to the public. Cancer Research UK nurses have met over 600,000 people since launching their community Cancer Awareness Roadshows in 2006 and adding their Your Cancer Awareness Hubs in 2016.
To find out more about how to reduce the risk of cancer and detect it early, visit cruk.org/spotcancerearly. To find out more about the Your Cancer Awareness Health Hubs visit www.cancerawarenessroadshow.org.uk or follow the Your Cancer Awareness Hub team on twitter on @CRUKroadshow_NW
*Based on the annual average number of new cases of cancer (ICD10 C00-C97 excl. C44) diagnosed in St Helens between 2012-2014.
**Based on the annual average number of deaths from cancer (ICD10 C00-C97 excl. C44) in St Helens between 2012-2014.
Source: These data were extracted from the Public Health England’s Cancer Analysis System, snapshot CAS8038. Accessed 22/03/2018. This work is only possible because of data from the cancer registry, which is routinely collected by the NHS as part of patient care.
