Northern Cancer Voices (NCV) are formed from a group of patients and carers with a desire to improve services for cancer patients throughout the North East and North Cumbria NHS ICB. We have previously specialised in patient “stories”, producing qualitative feedback for Trusts using patient stories.

Our work is important because 1 in 2 people will be impacted by a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime and it can be difficult for people to maintain their health and wellbeing while they cope with such a diagnosis. There were 329,665 new cancer diagnoses in 2021, on average 903 a day, which is 2,491 more than 2019 and 40,912 more than 2020. The North East had the highest rate of cancer incidence while London had the lowest (2018).

Being present in different communities, we work to raise awareness of cancer symptoms while also collaborating with primary and secondary care professionals along with organisations such as the Northern Cancer Alliance and Macmillan. To share best practices and make improvements to services in a patient-led manner. NCV can reach parts of the population that Trusts/NHS programs may struggle to engage with and help service providers understand reasons for non-attendance to screenings, appointments etc. By providing this feedback to Trusts, we can reduce the number of missed appointments, improve patient access to care and reduce stress for patients.

We would like to continue and grow our work in communities and for this we need help with core costs. Now that the cold weather is here, having a support network close to home when going through a diagnosis or after, is very much needed. Please help us - your donation no matter what amount, will be put to good use in the community.