Boost for cancer care in Haringey after £150k charity grant

Bridge Renewal Trust is one of 65 community organisations chosen from across the UK to help improve care and support for people living with cancer

A Tottenham charity has been awarded a six-figure sum to help boost local cancer care.

Bridge Renewal Trust won the £149,914 grant from Macmillan Cancer Support to help deliver lasting improvements to local cancer care and support services.

Macmillan care grants are a new initiative by the national cancer charity, as they work to make cancer care better and fairer for everyone, no matter who they are or where they live.

The charity warns that the number of people living with cancer is on the rise, with as many as 5.4 million people expected to be living with cancer in the UK by 2045, a 58% rise.

At the same time, there is growing concern over how the UK cancer care system is not just struggling to cope, but also leaving people behind because of who they are, where they live, what they earn or how they communicate.

Bridge Renewal Trust is one of 65 community organisations chosen from across the UK to help improve care and support for people living with cancer today, while also contributing to wider and long-lasting improvements in UK cancer care for the future.

Bridge Renewal Trust’s project, ‘A Piece of the Puzzle’, aims to help tackle this crisis by working with three grassroots organisations; Dalmar Heritage & Family Development, which predominantly works with the Somali community; Turkish Cypriot Community Association; and House of Polish Eastern European Macmillan Internal Community, which works with the Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian community.

Together they will explore people’s experiences from diagnosis through to survivorship. The project will explore the barriers that exist, the similarities communities experience and the unique differences.

Michele Eastmond, chair of trustees for Bridge Renewal Trust, said: “We are delighted to have received two years of funding from Macmillan Cancer Support.

“Our project, A Piece of the Puzzle, is needed more than ever. Haringey is the third most deprived borough in London and one of the most diverse, with growing health inequalities.

“Research shows that people living in areas of high deprivation and people from minority ethnic communities can face delays in diagnosis, poorer cancer outcomes and worse survivorship.

“By generating insights from local communities, our project will add a vital piece to the puzzle, helping improve cancer care locally and nationally. This funding will help to ensure that patients from these communities receive the support they need to live well with and beyond a cancer diagnosis.”

Heather McLean, director of communities and system partnerships for Macmillan Cancer Support, added: “Cancer isn’t fair, but at Macmillan, we believe cancer care and support should be.

“Real change in cancer care starts with those who know the challenges they face the best, and that is communities themselves. That is why every local project we are supporting has been shaped by the views of people living with cancer and their loved ones.

“We are so excited to be working with Bridge Renewal Trust, and community organisations right across the UK, to address some of the gaps we know exist, to deliver lasting change in local cancer care and to help make things just that little bit better for everyone affected by cancer.

“Together, we want to help make sure that people with cancer can get the personalised support they need, whoever and wherever they are.”

To find out more about A Piece of the Puzzle:
Visit bridgerenewaltrust.org.uk

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