Prostate cancer pack for black men

What do Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Colin Powell all have in common?

They are all men of African or African-Caribbean descent who have been diagnosed and successfully treated for prostate cancer.

Since the risk of prostate cancer is three-times higher in African-Caribbean and African men and it can occur at a much earlier age, Macmillan Cancer Relief in collaboration with other cancer charities and community organisations has launched toolkit to assist health and social care staff to raise awareness of the increased prostate cancer risk for these communities and how to provide culturally appropriate information and support in response.

The toolkit — 'Effective communication with African-Caribbean and African men affected by prostate cancer' - looks at ways in which health care staff can reach out to and engage with African-Caribbean and African communities, and assess their information needs. It also offers guidance on addressing language concerns and providing appropriate information materials and support.

Melanie Lee, Black and Minority Ethnic Information Programme Manager at Macmillan Cancer Relief, says, 'This toolkit is designed for health and social care staff who want to meaningfully engage with African-Caribbean and African communities. Men in these communities are almost three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than their white counterparts and cancer information and support services need to take account of their diverse cultural needs. Raising awareness of health issues amongst men in general is a challenge and this toolkit provides a way to target men from these particular cultural communities.'

Shaun O'Leary, Director of Operations at The Prostate Cancer Charity, said, 'This is an excellent resource — it highlights the specific issues affecting African Caribbean men with prostate cancer and, perhaps even more importantly, provides help and guidance for health professionals working with people from these communities.

It's not just the resource itself that's important however, it's what's behind it — collaboration, in the truest sense of the word. Different charities united under Macmillan's umbrella bringing together individuals who believed in the worth of the project and were committed to making it happen.

African Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than their white counterparts which is why it is crucial men and their families in these communities are properly supported. This resource will ensure that happens.'

The Macmillan Black & Minority Ethnic Toolkit — Effective communication with African-Caribbean and African men affected by prostate cancer is available free of charge from Macmillan Resources Line on 01344 350 310.

This toolkit will help health and social care professionals to provide culturally sensitive and appropriate information and support to African-Caribbean and African communities. This toolkit aims to:-

• Provide guidance on establishing links with African-Caribbean and African voluntary and community organisations.

• Raise awareness of the need to develop culturally specific prostate cancer information for the above communities.

• Provide criteria for measuring and evaluating the cultural appropriateness of cancer information materials for these communities.

Orin Lewis, Chief Executive, African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust said, 'I am delighted that our charity has been very instrumental in assisting Macmillan and the other partner members of the Steering Committee in the development and delivery of the Macmillan Black & Minority Ethnic Toolkit. We sincerely hope that this facility will be utilised as an additional resource by health professionals in order to gain a greater cultural understanding of the necessary requirements of African-Caribbean and African communities in relation to Prostate Cancer. A successful implementation of this Toolkit will enable other Governmental and Charitable initiatives to learn from its key messages, therefore enabling the delivery of other associated cultural initiatives to the African-Caribbean and African communities on other serious health issues.'

This toolkit has been developed in collaboration with the African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, The Prostate Cancer Charity, CancerBACUP and Cancer Black Care and with help from the Igbo Cultural and Support Network, The Learie Constantine West Indian Association, and the Anglo-Caribbean Domino League.