It’s always inspiring to meet individuals who go the extra mile to deliver work they are passionate about.
Our Health Champions are no exception and on 24 September I was privileged to meet a small group of them to find out more about how they are helping raise awareness of cancer as part of our Communities Against Cancer project.
What makes a perfect Health Champion?
A trusted member of the community who is skilled at starting conversations around cancer – a topic some communities may find extremely challenging to talk about. They are not medical experts but have an in-depth understanding of community needs and sometimes have lived experience of cancer. They bridge the gap between communities, GPs, and medical services. The connections they build may lead to more people seeking medical advice and/or receiving an early diagnosis (which often leads to improved outcomes and more treatment options).
What it means to be a Health Champion
At the meeting we asked our champions to share their thoughts about their role. Many believed addressing health inequalities was a key priority and that understanding communities and being a trusted voice was a way to break down barriers and encouraging more people to take control of their health.
How are our Health Champions taking action?
Here’s a round-up of how our champions have been raising awareness of cancer.
Archana – is helping her community tackle language and cultural barriers to accessing GP and screening services. She will be running workshops in Hindi and Gujarati.
Sophy – is helping raising awareness of breast and cervical cancer amongst the ‘new mum’ community via the Breast-Feeding Network
Sapna – engaged her community at the Mela Festival in Southampton by creating a colourful two metre banner full of signatures, information about accessing cancer information and where and how to seek medical guidance. This was used as a visual ‘talking point’ to encourage to people to talk about cancer. Satna puts personal interaction at the heart of what she does and helps lift barriers within the community towards cancer diagnosis and care
Dr Hugo – is a cancer consultant collaborating with schools to talk to students about the dangers of being exposed to sun at an early age.
Kate – has introduced a healthy eating fruit bar and a bra collection scheme to generate funds for the local cancer unit. She has empowered her community to produce ideas to support those undergoing chemotherapy.
Liz – uses her radio station Dorset Coastal Radio to raise awareness by inviting specialists, consultants, and cancer organisations to talk on her radio shows.
Anjali – raises cancer awareness through The Indian Community and is often invited to spread the word on radio and broadcast media.
Abigail – works with individuals who may be experiencing health inequality, specifically within rural communities and among people with Learning Disabilities (LD) or Special Educational Needs (SEN).
How we support our Health Champions?
We introduced a cohort of 4 Health Champions in Autumn 2025. Since then, the network has grown to twenty-five with more applications in the pipeline. We are delighted that so many of the communities we work with are keen to work with a Health Champion as this clearly demonstrates the value of their contribution.
Action Hampshire and our partner Wessex Cancer Alliance support our champions to achieve outstanding work. Together we provide:
- Information sessions about awareness campaigns (link to KTS)
- An online communications channel to keep them abreast of added resources and information
- Regular face to face and online meetings to share ideas and network
- Promotion of their work through Action Hampshire’s social media and newsletter channels
- Provide connections with other organisations and communities
- Opportunities to take part in co-design workshops
Are you interested in raising awareness of cancer?
If you’re a voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation in Hampshire, IOW or Dorset you may be eligible for a Communities Against Cancer grant. Many of our grantees have a dedicated Health Champion and you can find out more about this by attending one of our workshops.
Follow this link to find out more
