A POOR uptake of cancer screening in Bradford has prompted health officials to take action.

They are aiming to tackle some of the myths surrounding the disease in an event called So You Think You Know About Cancer next week.

Running on Tuesday August 18 from 11.30am until 2pm in Centenary Square, it has been organised by Bradford District and Bradford City CCGs (Clinical Commissioning Groups) and involves other organisations including Macmillan, GPs, nurses and screening experts who will be on hand to give information and advice.

"We recognise that particularly in Bradford city we have a poor uptake of our screening programmes," says Kath Helliwell, head of commissioning for long term conditions.

She says the event has a three-pronged approach - to find out why there is such a low uptake of screening programmes; to encourage people to get any unusual symptoms checked out; and to make it fun to try and reduce the myths and worries.

"There are a few different angles. In Bradford we have a poor uptake of our screening programmes. There are lots of different reasons and it is to try and find out what some of the problems are," says Kath. "What we are wanting to do is to get to the crux of it and try and explain to people what it is and what screening programmes are all about; why they are important and what happens whether bowel, breast or cervical screening."

Kath explains health trainers will be available on the day to interact with people.

"We are trying to find out what some of the barriers are and help them understand what it is and help us so we can look at making sure access routes are available for patients to have the right information."

Another aim of the event is to encourage people to get to know their own bodies and be aware of anything unusual to them. "If patients do have any signs or symptoms that are unusual for them - everybody knows their own body - it is trying to encourage them to see their GP and get it checked out. The earlier something is diagnosed, the better the longer term prognosis is."

Kath says they will talk to them about the outcomes. "We do have some good outcomes for patients in Bradford. We want to make sure patients are aware of screening and anybody who has unusual signs and symptoms better to be checked out and be OK."

And, thirdly, Kath says they want to make sure as well as being informative, the event is also fun. There will be lifestyle related information such as stopping smoking and improving diets to help reduce the risk of getting cancer and also reducing the risk of diabetes.

The Cancer Information Centre is also supporting the event along with the public health team who manage the screening programme.

"Some of the messages we have got back from patients is they don't know what it is. You often hear about bowel screening - everybody has heard about it but doing it is another thing."

She says people often don't understand it or think they don't need it but it is imperative to participate in the screening programme as it does save lives.

And if their appointment has been missed when they were called, they can still take up the offer very easily.

"It is their choice at the end of the day if they want to be screened but it is about having the right information to make that decision for themselves," concludes Kath.

Dr Ian Fenwick, the district’s clinical lead for cancer, said: “Changes to your body's normal processes or symptoms that are out of the ordinary can sometimes be an early sign of cancer. For example, a lump that suddenly appears on your body, unexplained bleeding or changes to your bowel habits are all symptoms that need to be checked by a doctor.

“In many cases, your symptoms won't be related to cancer and will be caused by other, non-cancerous health conditions. However, it's still important for you to see your GP so that they can investigate your symptoms.

“In Bradford we want to increase the numbers of people who take up the offer of screening as we have some of the lowest rates of uptake and in many cases if a cancer is detected early the prognosis is considerably better.”

Cancer is a very common condition. In 2011, almost 331,500 people in the UK were diagnosed with cancer.

More than one in three people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime. In the UK, the four most common types of cancer are: breast, lung, prostate and bowel cancer.