Cancer survivor backs project
Volunteer Louise Dryden, who will be helping to man the Daisy bus on its tour of rural Northumberland
by Jack Webster
A BERWICK resident is to support a touring campervan that is going on a whistle-stop trip around Northumberland to raise awareness of the early signs of cancer.
Louise Dryden will be helping to man the campervan, affectionately known as ‘Daisy’, at several of the stops on the tour which will cover the areas of Berwick, Tynedale and Alnwick.
The Volkswagen campervan will be travelling across the county for two weeks at the beginning of April with the aim of raising awareness of the early signs and symptoms of breast, bowel and lung cancers.
People are encouraged to visit Daisy and the NHS staff and volunteers who’ll be travelling with her. At each stop they will be handing out information about the early signs and symptoms of cancer, talking to people about what to look out for in their bodies and dispelling any myths and taboos that surround the disease.
Louise, 60, who is married with a daughter, has had personal experience of the disease after being diagnosed with breast cancer just over two years ago via the NHS breast screening service. Having received treatment, she now only has to go back once a year for a check-up.
She said: “I think the Daisy cancer campervan is a great way of getting out into the more rural parts of Northumberland.
“We have a very strong community spirit in Berwick and I hope that the community gets behind the Daisy bus and its important message of knowing the early symptoms of cancer and not to delay going to see your GP if you think something’s wrong. I want to encourage people, particularly women because of my own experience, to be aware of what’s going on in their body and to be alert to changes. Catching cancer early can literally save your life.”
Despite having access to some of the best cancer services and treatments in the county, there is evidence that people contact their GP with symptoms of cancer much later than they should.
Research has shown that whilst the majority of people have been touched by cancer through family and friends, worryingly many are unaware of the symptoms of the disease and may be too embarrassed or frightened to make an appointment with their GP if something appears to be wrong.
The Daisy campervan cancer awareness tour has been organised by the North of Tyne Healthy Communities Collaborative (HCC), an NHS-led project tasked with raising awareness of early cancer symptoms and impacting on how quickly people go and see their GP with symptoms.
Lesley Davie, project manager for the HCC, said: “We’ve organised the Daisy cancer campervan as part of our ongoing work to raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of the most common cancers amongst residents of rural Northumberland.
“As a team we’re really looking forward to chatting with local people, dispelling any of the myths that might exist around cancer and trying to get across the message that the earlier a cancer is caught, the greater the likelihood that it can be treated successfully.
“We want to meet as many people as possible on the tour so we hope people come and say hello.”
The Daisy campervan will be at Berwick Farmers’ Market at The Maltings Theatre and Art Centre in Eastern Lane on Wednesday, April 6 and in Scremerston, Spittal and Berwick town centre on Saturday, April 16. The campervan will also be visiting Wooler, Belford and Lowick on Monday, April 11.
Last month, the HCC project to raise awareness of the early symptoms of cancer amongst residents in Northumberland called for local people to get involved as volunteers. The HCC team were recently successful in obtaining additional funding from the Department of Health and Cancer Research UK which allowed them to extend their work into the rural communities of the county.
To get involved in the HCC project, or for more information, call 0191 6432892 or email hcc@northoftyne.nhs.uk
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Weather for Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Thursday 24 May 2012
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