Friday 1st December was World AIDS Day and this year’s theme was: ‘My health, my right’

This theme recognises the fact that many people living with HIV are denied their right to health. Their right to health includes access to good quality health services and medications and being treated with dignity and respect.

It was a particularly good day for the Caribbean as Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and St Kitts and Nevis were certified by the World Health Organisation as having eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.  This follows the success of the Caribbean nation Cuba, in 2015, who became the first country in the world to achieve WHO certification for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

This is fantastic news for the Caribbean where HIV is a significant public health challenge with 310,000 people living with HIV.  In 2007, it was estimated that 6,400 children in the region were infected with HIV, most of these through mother-to-child transmission. Children who are infected with HIV have a challenging start to life facing a life-time of medication, stigma, ill-health and possibly a shortened life span. With all this in mind, in 2010 the Regional Initiative for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis in Latin America and the Caribbean was launched.

This initiative is coordinated by the Pan-American Health Organisation and the United Nations Children Fund and its aim, at the time, was to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and congenital syphilis in all Caribbean countries and territories by 2015 and to reduce the transmission rate to 2%. Whilst only one country, Cuba, made the 2015 deadline and the transmission rate is above 2% (it’s now 9%, 52% less than in 2010) great progress has been made: since 2010 new infections in children have been reduced in the region by 52% and 74% of pregnant women with HIV now have access to anti-retroviral drugs which significantly reduces chances of passing on the virus to their children during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

The Caribbean should be very proud as it is ahead of the rest of the world and we hope that other Caribbean countries will follow the example set by these six Caribbean nations and put policies and procedures in place to eliminate the transmission of HIV from mother to child. This is very important in giving all children the best start in life and is a key step in the prevention HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.

For more information on this work you can download the document below,  visit UNAIDS’ website here or watch the short video below.

Over the years there have been numerous questions and concern about the impact chemicals in hair products have on our health. This concern has been heightened in the black community for some time, particularly with respect to relaxers (chemical hair straighteners).

Several studies have been conducted exploring if there is a link between hair products and fibroids, cancer and other conditions, but these have been inconclusive. When a link has been shown researchers have been cautious explaining that association doesn’t mean causation – i.e. they couldn’t prove that relaxers actually contribute to the development of fibroids or cancer and therefore they all recommended that more research should be conducted.

Latest Research

In June of this year, researchers from Rutgers University in New Jersey published the results from their research into specific hair products and whether their use is associated with an increase in breast cancer risk.  In this study, researchers looked at 4,285 African America and white women; 2,280 had breast cancer and 2,005 didn’t. The study compared those with breast cancer to those who didn’t have breast cancer to determine if differences existed that may  be linked to breast cancer risk.   The women were aged 20-75 and were from New York City and ten counties n New Jersey.

The study aimed to determine if hair dyes, relaxers and deep conditioners containing cholesterol or placenta were associated with an increased risk in developing breast cancer. In order to explore this researchers collected vast amounts of data on the women who took part in the study. This included socio-demographic data and their exposure to known risk factors such as family and personal history of breast cancer, smoking, alcohol consumption and more. They also asked participants about their use of the previously mentioned hair products, what shade of dye they used and  how long they used these products for.

What did they find?

The researchers found that for African American women there was a 51% increase in their risk of developing breast cancer among those who used dark brown or black hair dye. They also found that in African American women there was a 72% increase in oestrogen-positive breast cancers amongst those who used dark brown or black dyes and a 36% increase in oestrogen-positive breast cancers in those who used dyes more frequently.

In white women they found a 74% increase in breast cancer risk in those who used relaxers and a large increase in risk in women who used both relaxers and hair dyes. They also found that use of hair dyes resulted in a 54% increase in risk of developing oestrogen-positive breast cancers whilst relaxer use caused a 2.6 fold increase in oestrogen-negative breast cancers.

There was no link between deep conditioners and breast cancer.

What does this mean?

The researchers concluded that “these novel findings support a relationship between the use of some hair products and breast cancer.”

When speaking about their work, lead author of the research paper, Adana Llanos said

“Just because we found these associations doesn’t mean that if you dye your hair dark, or any colour, you’re going to get breast cancer, but at the same time, the study points to something else we should be mindful of.”

The results exposed a significant association with oestrogen-positive breast cancers so the current hypothesis is that the dyes may contain chemical compounds that are similar to oestrogen or stimulate pathways that cause the production of oestrogen. It was hard to determine this as women in the study weren’t asked what brands of products they used so researchers couldn’t explore the actual chemicals within these products that women were exposed to. But Alana Llanos said:

      “There must be some role for oestrogen for sure.”

Her research team recognise that there were limitations to the study and that further work is needed to truly understand the link between hair products and breast cancer risk.

Our Thoughts

The Lake Foundation is pleased to see more research in this area being conducted and this work needs to continue until we have a definitive answer as to whether hair products affect our health or not. In the meantime, we would advise that women take a look at this research and make an informed decision as to whether they should continue using hair dyes and relaxers.  We always say  people should exercise caution in the use of products where there is found to be a credible association with cancer, or any disease, until a clear answer can be provided on whether that association means that a particular product contributes to the development of a disease.

More Information

You can read the full research paper for this study here

A couple of weeks ago government representatives from across  the world met in Montevideo, Uruguay for the World Health Organisation’s Global Conference on NCDs (Non-communicable diseases, e.g: cancer, diabetes,  cardiovascular disease etc).  The objectives of the conference were: to guide countries on how to reach sustainable development goal target 3.4 by 2030; to launch a new set of global initiatives to help countries accelerate progress in tackling NCDs; to share and exchange experiences; and to discuss how the health sector can be a key example of the benefit of enhancing policy coherence to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Making A Commitment to Tackle NCDs

At this conference governments endorsed the Montevideo Roadmap 2018-2030 on NCDs as a Sustainable Development Priority. By endorsing this roadmap they have made a commitment to take significant steps towards reducing the premature deaths due to NCDs by a third. They recognised that NCDs are one of the major challenges of the 21^st century and that progress to tackle them has been uneven and insufficient. The roadmap states that 15 million 30 to 69 year olds per year die from a NCD and 80% of these premature deaths occur in developing countries.  There are a number of challenges associated with tackling NCDs and with this is mind they committed to the following actions:

• Reinvigorate political action
• Enable health systems to respond more effectively to NCDs
• Increase significantly the financing of national NCD responses and international cooperation
• Increase efforts to engage sectors beyond health
• Reinforce the role of non-State actors
• Seeks measures to address the negative impact of products and environmental factors harmful for health and strengthen the contribution and accountability of the private sector and other non-State actors
• Continue relying on WHO’s leadership and key role in the global response to NCDs
• Act in unity

Our Thoughts

We were delighted to see world leaders come together and make this commitment and look forward to seeing these actions being taken forward.

We’re particularly happy to see that efforts will be made to engage with a variety of stakeholders. As a small organisation that is passionate about improving the health and well-being of our community we do get frustrated at the lack of engagement with grassroots organisations. We have many times reached out to local and national governments with our enthusiasm and ideas, ready to play a role but have received lukewarm responses or no responses at all. We hope that governments will see the value of working with small organisations and we have been grateful for the funding provided by Croydon Council, Sports England, Macmillan and Eli Lilly for some of the work we’ve conducted on NCDs. We look forward to continuing to work in this area and making our own small contribution.

You can read the complete Montevideo Roadmap below.

Type 2 diabetes is three times more common in the black community and as this type of diabetes can be prevented or delayed with a healthy lifestyle we can make a huge difference in our community by raising awareness.  With this in mind The Lake Foundation has teamed up with Diabetes UK with funding from Croydon Council to run a diabetes community champion project. The aim of this project is to empower the black community with the information that is needed to fully understand diabetes, its symptoms, risk factors and prevention so action can be taken.

We’ve recruited 17 community champions who have received in-depth training from Diabetes UK. The training has equipped them to get out in the community and effectively raise awareness and encourage behaviour change. They will get out and about targeting black churches, businesses and other organisations and we hope that this will make a significant difference in reducing the negative impact of diabetes on the black community in Croydon. We’ll be getting across the message that we can all reduce our risk of developing diabetes by eating a healthier diet, doing more exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.

On 14th June, our champions hosted their first awareness event at Croydon College where they raised awareness amongst staff and students giving out leaflets and encouraging people to take Diabetes UK’s useful ‘know your risk’ test. In addition to this they also helped out on 10^th June at Diabetes UK and the Thinking Forward Initiative’s diabetes workshop in Crystal Palace.

Through both of these event our champions were able to reach our community, raise awareness and get people to think about lifestyle changes they can make to improve their health and reduce their risk of developing diabetes.

We’re so happy with the great work our champions have done so far and we’ll be back out in Croydon soon raising awareness. We’ll see you all on our travels!

This week is Diabetes Awareness Week and our guest blogger, Stacey Mensah discusses a diabetes diet as well as our current Diabetes Community Champion project. 

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is the most common form of the disease that is found in children. Insulin dependent diabetes is a term that is also used to describe type 1 diabetes. This causes the loss of insulin production which means that you would be required to regularly administer levels by injection or by insulin pump. When you have this type of diabetes you need to consider how different foods are going to impact your blood glucose levels and how to balance the quantity of carbohydrate with the right amount of insulin.

Here at the Lake Foundation we are constantly promoting healthy eating but when you have type 1 diabetes this should really be stressed as it can play a part in helping to prevent the development of complications. This goes without saying but limiting the amount of processed foods you eat should be at the top of your agenda. Some may wish to adopt a reduced carbohydrate diet as they can be helpful for people who are struggling to keep control on a carb centred diet.

Type 2 Diabetes

The confusion between these two types of diabetes is quite common as they are both characterised by higher than normal blood sugar levels. The key difference is that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed with a healthy lifestyle. There are also no episodes of hypoglycaemia, unless the person is taking insulin or certain diabetes medicines. It is also important to note that you may not have symptoms before the diagnosis. Usually types 2 diabetes is discovered in adulthood.

Having type 2 diabetes does not mean that you can’t have fun with your foods. Instead, it means that you just have to pay extra attention to choosing the right combination of foods that will keep your blood sugar level in your target range. On the whole it’s important to eat healthy regardless of your health situation.

 Our Diabetes Community Champion Project

Type 2 diabetes is three times more common in the black community and as I mentioned above this type of diabetes can be prevented or delayed with a healthy lifestyle. With this in mind The Lake Foundation has teamed up with Diabetes UK with funding from Croydon Council to run a diabetes community champion project. The aim of this project is to empower the black community with the information that is needed to fully understand diabetes, its symptoms, risk factors and prevention so action can be taken.

We’re delighted to have recruited 17 community champions who have received in-depth training from Diabetes UK. The training has equipped them to get out in the community and effectively raise awareness and encourage behaviour change. They will get out and about targeting black churches, businesses and other organisations to raise awareness and we hope that this will make a significant difference in reducing the negative impact of diabetes on the black community in Croydon. We’ll be getting across the message that we can all reduce our risk of developing diabetes by eating a healthier diet, doing more exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.

This week, on 14^th June, our champions will be at Croydon College raising awareness amongst staff and students giving out leaflets and encouraging people to take Diabetes UK’s useful ‘know your risk’ test. If you’re in the area over lunch time why not drop by, pick up some information and speak to our champions.

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of attending an event organised by Diabetes UK and Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group. This event was entitled ‘Type 2 Diabetes and the Croydon Community’ and it brought together patients, healthcare professionals, local charities and commissioners to discuss how   we can tackle diabetes in Croydon.

The event started with a welcome and introduction by Dr Rajan Namasivayam from the Diabetes UK Croydon Local Group and then we heard from the three main speakers: Rachael Glover, Manager at Diabetes UK; Charlotte Harris, Senior Researcher, Revealing Reality;  and Dipti Gandhi, Diabetes Clinical Lead at Croydon CCG.

Setting the Scene

Rachael Glover from Diabetes UK started the session with a good introduction to type 2 diabetes and its prevention and management.  From Rachael’s presentation, we learnt of the extent to which diabetes affects those living in the UK; currently, 4.5 million people in the UK have diabetes.  Rachael explained that diabetes occurs when our body isn’t able to control our blood glucose levels and glucose builds up in the blood leading to a number of health problems.  Diabetes is a result of problems with our insulin which is a hormone that helps our body use glucose preventing glucose levels from rising to dangerously high levels.

Rachael stated that there are two main types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes: this is where the body doesn’t make any insulin at all

Type 2 diabetes:  where the body doesn’t make enough insulin or the insulin isn’t working properly.

From Rachael’s presentation, it was noted that 90% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes hence why there is a need to focus on this type of diabetes, particularly because 3/5 cases of type 2 diabetes are preventable. This means there is a huge opportunity to successfully tackle diabetes.

Rachael explained that type 2 diabetes can be prevented by eating a healthier diet, being more active and maintaining a healthy weight.

Rachael stated that the national programme Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme was launched in 2016 to support people at high risk of developing diabetes to change their lifestyle to reduce their risk.

Rachael also discussed the best ways of ensuring that patients with diabetes are able to successfully manage their condition.  She stated that one of the most effective ways to do this is through patient education and there are several approaches:  one-to-one information and advice, informal flexible ongoing information, ongoing support and structured education.  These approaches are useful to patients with 90% of patients saying that they were better able to manage their condition following education, but sadly only 5% of diabetes patients attend an education event. With this in mind, Diabetes UK and Croydon CCG have pledged to reach 50% of diabetics through education.

Interesting Research

Next, we heard from Charlotte Harris, Senior Researcher from Revealing Reality. Charlotte summarised the findings from a very interesting research study that aimed to understand attitudes to diabetes amongst the South Asian communities of Thornton Heath in Croydon.

In their study they explored the needs, barriers and opportunities for innovation and they did this by finding out about diabetes as it is really lived in the community – they visited patients in their own environment.  From their work they identified  four key areas for innovation:

• Food
• Lifestyle and fitness
• Medical and healthcare
• Knowledge and advice

They also found that:

1. When looking at the South Asian community, there was no one South Asian community or culture. There were many cultural differences (Indian, Bangladeshi etc..) and these differences are usually overlooked when health education and awareness projects are developed.

2. Despite diabetes being talked about frequently, understanding of diabetes is low and for people where there was an understanding knowledge wasn’t applied practically.

3. There was a sense in the South Asian community that diabetes is inevitable and there isn’t anything that can be done to prevent it, so there was a significant feeling of powerlessness.

4. Many myths about diabetes exist such as climate and stress cause diabetes and that diabetes can be cured, this myth about there being a cure was a major problem as people would stop taking their medication once they started feeling better believing they were cured.

5. There was a lack of knowledge of the serious complications that are associated with diabetes.

Tackling Diabetes in Croydon

Finally, we heard from Dipti Gandhi the diabetes clinical lead at Croydon CCG. Dipti explained that, in Croydon, diabetes is a  huge problem with about 10% of residents living with diabetes.  She then went on to explain some of the services in Croydon. These included:

• A new prevention programme where pre-diabetics are identified and enrolled in a 15-month programme to reduce their risk of developing diabetes. This programme has started in Thornton Heath and will expand to other areas in Croydon.
• Online support via Croydon Council’s Just Be Programme
• Voluntary sector projects to raise awareness
• Support with medications
• Group consultations with GPs and exploring ways of patients accessing diabetes specialists
• Self education through DESMOND Type 2 and DAFNE Type 1

Conclusion

This was a really informative and interesting event and one that was of great importance to the black community who are three times more likely to develop diabetes than their white counterparts. The Lake Foundation is currently making its own contribution to tackling diabetes in Croydon by teaming up with Diabetes UK and Croydon CCG with funding from Croydon Council to run a diabetes community champion project.  To find out more about this project or to volunteer to take part please email us

This week is Parkinson’s Awareness Week and our guest blogger, Stacey Mensah, discusses this condition, urging us to bring this forgotten disease into the limelight.

Welcome back to the Lake Foundation’s blog! I hope everyone is doing amazing well! As this week marks the beginning of Parkinson’s awareness week, I believe it would be fitting to base this post around that issue. Now I’m going to be honest with you, I never really understood health weeks. I believed it to be marketing ploy but, fortunately I have changed the error of my ways. Raising the awareness of Parkinson’s is incredibly important, as many people still view it as an elderly person’s illness, when in fact it is striking men and women all over the country, far earlier in life. Parkinson’s has been described as the forgotten disease as it manifests itself differently in each individual and so it’s harder to diagnose and there unfortunately is no cure. Or, at least just not yet there isn’t. So let’s get the basics out of the way…

According to the National Health Service, Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative condition of the central nervous system that mainly affects the part of the nervous system that is involved with movement. The three main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are:

Tremor. This refers to a shaking that usually begins in the limbs, often in your hands or fingers. You may notice a back and forth rubbing of your thumb and forefinger, known as a pill-rolling tremor. Another characteristic of Parkinson’s disease is a tremor of your hand when it is relaxed. Unfortunately there is no cure for a tremor but there are ways to control it. In the early stages of Parkinson’s some people might be able to suppress their hand tremor by squeezing or rolling a ball, pen or similar object. A specialist or a Parkinson’s nurse should be able to give you advice on what would be the best course of action to take.

Slowed Movement. Parkinson’s disease will gradually reduce your ability to move and slow your movement, making simple tasks quite time consuming. The reduction in the level of dopamine may also cause your steps to become shorter when you walk and may also make it difficult getting out of a chair. People have found physiotherapy helpful as it improves their symptoms. A physio therapist will also be able to recommend exercises and techniques to help with your mobility.

Rigidity. This stops muscles from stretching and relaxing. It can cause: stiff muscles, inflexible muscles, pain and muscle cramps and a fixed ‘mask-like’ facial expression. Rigidity prevents you from being able to swing your arms as their muscles will be too tight and stiff.  Regular exercise of course will help strengthen muscles and improve flexibility and mobility. Physiotherapy will also be a big reliever of muscle pain.

It is all too easy to forget about this disease and so we urge you to do something this week. Whether it is raising money for the cause, or simply just inviting a friend over to discuss the topic. We need to bring this forgotten disease back into the lime light and it can only start with you.

See you next week x

More information on the symptoms of Parkinson’s can be found at parkinsons.org.uk

In this week’s blog freelance journalist Stacey Mensah discusses dementia. 

Welcome back, you lovely people! It’s the end of another week and I don’t know about you but I’m glad it’s here. I’ve also just realized that it’s the last weekend in January! How are we feeling about that? I don’t know whether to be excited by the fact that we’ll be saying bye-bye to January blues, or sad because we are another month closer to bikini season – or should I say overall season. Ha! Let’s leave the issue of bikini season to one side – for now – and let’s discuss dementia, and how regular exercise can reduce the odds of developing this disease.

Dementia 101

Dementia refers to a set of symptoms that include, but are not limited to, memory loss and deficiencies with thinking, problem-solving and language. Although these changes are incredibly minor to start off with, over time they do become severe enough to affect everyday life. Of course, the best thing to do would be to get a proper assessment of problems but the waiting times of the NHS stretching as far as two weeks it’s best to take preventative measures while you still can.

In a recent study, it was found that people who exercised regularly appeared to have lower odds of developing dementia than those that didn’t.  This study followed more than 1,500 adults, aged 65 and older. This isn’t to say that if you’re younger than 65 you can stop reading – carry on, you’ll be surprised.

The symptoms of dementia can be seen in those that are younger than 65. This is usually referred to as having young-onset dementia. The stressful events of life including weddings, job losses and divorce have also been linked to this development. Unfortunately, there is a wider range of diseases that trigger young-onset dementia. Most importantly, people with this type of dementia are far more likely to be diagnosed with a rarer form of the disease. In both cases getting a diagnosis would be the best thing too – regardless of how long you may have to wait, it is worth it!

Getting Real

Here at the Lake Foundation, we take health incredibly seriously. It’s not a fad, but we do struggle. We are simply normal peopleand at times we have questionable eating habits. And of course when I say we, I mean me. Eating healthily and exercising regularly as always been an obstacle for me. Actually, to call it an obstacle would be a major understatement, as obstacles are usually overcome within time. This obstacle has become that piece of furniture in the corner that you just can’t seem to throw away. When you wake up, it’s there. When you go to bed, ooooh wait…no, ​it’s still there. When my family and friends ask me about it, I rationalize its being; somehow relating it back to the core of my existence. I know, how dramatic, right?

I tell you this because we are all in this together. For the start of February, my plan is to change the rules that I live by. For a wise woman once said that some rules are nothing but old habits that people are afraid to change.

Have a great weekend!

Last week, we had the pleasure of attending the launch of Prostate Cancer UK’s Stronger Knowing More campaign. This campaign is aimed at black men and puts the spotlight on the fact that black men have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer. Black men have a 1 in 4 chance of developing prostate cancer, which is double the risk faced by white men.

The campaign was formally launched on 17^th January at 15 Hatfields . The event started with a networking session where we were able to speak to staff members involved in developing this much-needed campaign, hear from men who have been affected by prostate cancer and view the very powerful images being used for Stronger Knowing More.

Powerful Imagery

Our first mission as we walked around the beautiful venue was to look at the exhibition of images which were created for the campaign.

Prostate Cancer UK worked with photographer Dennis Morris to create a collection of photographs of black men from the worlds of sport, politics and the arts as well as prostate cancer survivors in a show of strength against prostate cancer. The collection of images featured former WBA World Heavyweight champion David Haye, Olympic gold medallist, Linford Christie Labour MP, Chuka Umunna, writer and musician Benjamin Zephaniah, ex-England footballer Viv Anderson and Red Dwarf star Danny John-Jules.

Reading through the captions of the each picture was really inspiring, moving and empowering and we’re sure that as men see these it was make them reflect on their health and perceptions of prostate cancer.

It was also interesting to read the behind the scenes view of the creation of the pictures with photographer Dennis Morris explaining that each shot was carefully thought through. For his photo shoot he asked each of his subjects to select a location where they felt the strongest and he was able to capture moments of defiance, strength and vulnerability.  It is hoped that the pictures will tap into the inner strength of men and when combined with information will defeat the silence and stigma around prostate cancer.

Moving Stories

During the networking session we spoke to several men with experience of prostate cancer and were so moved by their experience and the fact that despite their health they were working tirelessly to raise awareness and support other men.  It was also interesting to learn of how some men came to be diagnosed, many by chance encounters with people who made them think which really highlighted that small gestures can make a huge difference in someone’s life.

We spoke to one man whose first words to us were: “that man saved my life” as he pointed to one of Prostate Cancer UK’s most well-known patient volunteers, Errol McKellar. He told us that he was waiting at a train station one day when Errol began speaking to him about prostate cancer and ended the conversation by giving him a leaflet, which he only took to “shut him up!” He said that leaflet stayed on his desk at work for two weeks and then during a slow day at work he read the leaflet and realised he had some of the symptoms of prostate cancer. He visited his GP and was later diagnosed with prostate c,ancer, which he said was devastating.  All he could think about was not being there for his wife and children and not being around to see his children grow up, “they are still so young”. Luckily he was diagnosed at a fairly early stage and his future is bright, but had he not met Errol McKellar his story could have been so different.

Inspiring Speeches

After the networking session it was time for speeches. We first heard from Tom Shrophire, Trustee of Prostate Cancer, UK who gave some background to the campaign and how it came into being. He said that there was a need to publically acknowledge the heightened risk black men have and start implementing a solution that seeks to raise awareness as many men don’t realise they are at an increased risk.  He said this work is part of Prostate Cancer UK’s aim to tame prostate cancer in the next 10 years and this means they have to make black men, black families and black communities a priority.

We also heard from Prostate Cancer UK ambassador, Errol McKellar, who shared his touching story about his experience with prostate cancer. He was diagnosed after reading a leaflet about the PSA test and then decided to have the test done. He explained how prostate cancer totally changed his life and was the most difficult challenge of his life. He described the importance of having a good support system and said he would have never made it through this disease without the support of his wife (“my wife was my strength”). He gave hope to men by saying his prostate cancer diagnosis had knocked him down, yes, but it hadn’t knocked him out.  He gave a realistic view telling the audience that he is still battling some of the side effects of treatment and of the disease itself and it has taken him a long time to come to terms with how it has affected his life.  He also described his more vulnerable moments, like when he was diagnosed, he said “he cried like a baby.”

We were so inspired by all the work Errol has done since his recovery.  After he recovered from his treatment and was fit to return to work he was contemplating how he could make difference. So he decided that he would speak to every man that came into his mechanic shop about prostate cancer.

On his first day back to work he started with his first customer and  asked him: “When last did you get your prostate checked?”  He then offered his customer a 20% discount if he got a PSA test done and reported back to him. Sure enough a few months later the man return for his 20% discount having completed his PSA test but was shockingly diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer. The man said that Errol should donate the discount to charity and keep raising awareness. That was back in 2011 and since then Errol has spoken to hundreds of men about prostate cancer which has resulted in 26 men being diagnosed with prostate cancer, sadly two of those men have since passed away.

Finally we heard from actor Rudolph Walker, who has been working with Prostate Cancer UK for a number of years to raise awareness. Whilst he hasn’t had prostate cancer himself he spoke of his close friend who sadly lost his life to prostate cancer, but had he known the symptoms and been diagnosed earlier he may still be here today.

Getting Involved

On the night Prostate Cancer UK asked us all to make a pledge to support their campaign and raise awareness and we’ve pledged to do just that.

You can also get involved in this campaign and Prostate Cancer UK have said you could do any of the following:

• Read the ‘information for black men’ guide, wear your ‘man of men’ charity pin badge, and spread the word. Give the second guide and badge to someone who needs it
• Visit strongerknowingmore.org to find out the latest on the campaign
• Use your social media accounts to share the campaign on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (follow us at @ProstateUK and use #StrongerKnowingMore)
• Go online and book a free awareness talk for your colleagues, church or community organisation
• Order the free campaign posters and information to promote them in your workplace or your community organisation
• Help stop prostate cancer being a taboo subject. Share your personal story with us so we can share it with others

So let’s all get involved in raising awareness, breaking down the walls of silence and work towards saving our husbands, fathers, brothers, uncles, grandfathers, cousins and friends from prostate cancer.

This week the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) published the results of their research exploring cancer deaths in the Caribbean. This was an interesting piece of work revealing what the common causes of cancer deaths are in the region.

This piece of research looked at 23 Caribbean islands and looked at the most recent five years of mortality data during the period from 2003 to 2013. When they looked at all cancers combined the number of cancer deaths ranged from 32 deaths in the Turks and Caicos Islands to 26,135 in Puerto Rico. They converted the deaths into an age standardised rate which allows a better comparison because this rate takes into account the size of the population and the age of the people in that population. This is important because a larger country will have more deaths simply because they have a larger population and a region with an older population will have more deaths because cancer is more common in older people. By taking these two factors into account we can get an idea of  other underlying factors that may be causing cancer death which could be prevented, or in countries where cancer deaths rates are low we can explore what factors are contributing to this so other countries can learn from this.

When cancer deaths were converted into an age standardised rate it was found that the lowest  cancer death rate was found in the Turks and Caicos Islands at  46.1 cancer deaths per 100,000 people and the highest rate was in St Kitts and Nevis at  139.3 per 100,000 people.

The researchers then looked at specific cancers and they found that across 20 of the Caribbean islands prostate cancer was the most common cause of cancer deaths amongst men accounting for 18.4% to 47.4% of cancer deaths.  This was followed by lung cancer which accounted for 5.6% to 24.4% of cancer deaths.

When they looked at women, breast cancer was the most common cause of cancer deaths in 16 of the Caribbean islands accounting for 14% to 29.7% of cancer deaths.  Cervical cancer was found to be the second most common cause of cancer deaths in women with 4.5% to 18.2% of cancer deaths being attributed to cervical cancer.

The researchers also found that bowel cancer was the third most common cause of cancer deaths in men and women and that overall cancer was second leading cause of death in all islands.

When the deaths rates in the Caribbean were compared to those in the US, it was found that death rates for cervical cancer were  2 – 9 times higher in the Caribbean, prostate cancer death rates were 2 -8 times higher in the Caribbean and lung cancer death rates were lower in the Caribbean.

It was explained, in the publication of the research, that there could be an under or overestimation of the data in the Caribbean for several different reasons such as missing, unknown, invalid and non-specific information. Despite this, important conclusions can be made from this work with researchers concluding that:

“Lung and cervical cancers are important preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in most of the Caribbean countries. Lung cancers can be prevented through primary prevention of exposure to risk factors such as smoking, and cervical cancers can be prevented through human papillomavirus vaccination.

The leading causes of cancer deaths in the Caribbean region for both males and females also can be reduced through screening, early detection, and effective treatment for cervical, breast, and colorectal cancers. Although prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among men in the Caribbean, effective screening strategies that result in reduced mortality have not yet emerged globally, highlighting the need for strengthening referral and treatment strategies.”

The Lake Foundation welcomed this research which provides some good insight into areas that require attention in order to improve cancer outcomes in the Caribbean.