Coffee, conversations, and cancer
We had insightful and interesting discussions about cancer with 22 individuals over two ‘coffee conversations’.
Cancer can be a topic which we tend to shy away from, but conversations about signs, symptoms and the support available are crucial for early diagnosis and increasing the chances of survival.
So, as well as spreading awareness through engagement and outreach, we also ran two focus group ‘coffee conversations’ for people to talk about all aspects of cancer in familiar community settings. As anticipated, hosting these in a relaxed and welcoming environment encouraged people to share their own experiences and concerns.
Raqda Dhaqane, a student volunteer from Queen Mary University of London reflects on one of these conversations:
“On Friday the 26th November 2021, I helped organise and attended the ‘tea and coffee’ session where we gave out leaflets, vouchers and most importantly discussed cancer. This session took place at Pembury Community Centre in Hackney.
“The quality of conversations we had was amazing. The key themes we discussed in this session were the importance of getting diagnosed early, looking out for signs and symptoms, personal experiences people have had with cancer, and the importance of nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.
“We also emphasised to the participants where they could find more information such as on cancer leaflets or contacting their GP.
“One thing I found very interesting from the discussion was how the participants viewed the healthcare system as a whole. For example, how they would like more emphasis on the importance of nutrition, healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet from their GP.
“Overall, I rate the event as a success. We all learnt something new from each other and had an open discussion. The conversations even continued after the session had officially ended, everyone still wanted to keep talking and wanted to know when the next session was.”
Based on the positive community feedback, there is clearly an appetite for having safe spaces to talk about cancer, treatments, and prevention. We will be considering how to support this further in the New Year.