Paul Campbell, CEO of Cancer Black Care and cancer survivor, shares with MyLondon his journey with cancer and the inequalities he faced, and how his charity is aiming to tackle it
Paul Campbell, Chief Executive of Cancer Black Care and a cancer survivor based in Greenwich, was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 2019.
Paul shared his experience with MyLondon and the work he is doing with his charity, to help tackle inequalities that black, mixed and minority ethnic communities face when it comes to cancer care.
Paul told us that although he was officially diagnosed in 2019, his journey began when he was in his 40s, when he saw an advert on TV about a men’s health check which involved a PSA test.
He went to get the test two years later, but was told he could not have it done, as he told the GP surgery that nothing was explicitly wrong with him.
However, because of that advert, and his age fitting the criteria, he had to be assertive and only then when he got the PSA test did he found out that he had prostate cancer.
Paul told MyLondon: “Had I not been pushy, had I not stood my ground, had I not been assertive, I may have found that out at stage four, which wasn’t pleasant for me.
“Had I not seen the advert, I wouldn’t have gone for the test, because I never had signs or symptoms.”
Paul added: “It was disappointing that I was being challenged about whether I can access care on the NHS. That’s when I became resolute, dug my heels and challenged the system, because they were telling me I couldn’t get the test.
“I was quite adamant that this is my right, I want to get this check and I continued to get the checks and that’s when I found out I had prostate cancer.
“I did change my GP during that process as well, because I didn’t like the way I was handled, how I was spoken to, and how I was denied the test in the first place.”
Paul went on to express concern over the reach of certain messages, particularly among different communities. He said: “When you look in magazines and leaflets, we’re not represented.
“The language is always complicated. I remember when I was going through treatment, I had to continually remind the oncology team, and tell them to meet me at my level because I wanted to understand.
“Before I was diagnosed, I didn’t know about cancer care support services. I was relatively fit, why would you all of a sudden know about cancer?
“The information wasn’t visible to me and the messaging wasn’t around. In order to increase awareness, people need to know about their family history, and we need to get better at how we disseminate that information.”
Paul’s own father died from prostate cancer, and all he said to his family was that he is sick.
“It’s not taught in education in terms of prostate cancer for men,” Paul said, “so that needs to change.
“My brother was diagnosed the same year as me with prostate cancer, and had I not gone through my treatment, he would not have done his test, and same as my cousin. So there is a ripple effect and what information and advice we put out there, so people can find out about the risk factors.”
Paul now aims to eradicate the taboo over transparent, health-based conversations. “In some communities, you can’t even say the word cancer,” he continued.
“There is so much misinformation and stigma around the word cancer, and sometimes again with prostate cancer because the side effects can be so aggressive, men won’t go for help, they put their masculinity ahead of their health.”
In the UK, on average, someone is diagnosed with cancer every 75 seconds.
“Cancer is not going away,” Paul said. “It doesn’t care about your religion, your gender, what car you drive, what area you live in. Cancer doesn’t care about any of those things, because once it touches you, that’s it. But if it’s caught early there’s a lot more that can be done.”
Paul said that, on top of the communication barrier, there’s “historical mistrust”, adding, “you go into an environment and you don’t see yourself, your age bracket, your ethnicity, people you can’t relate to, and it does create problems for some people.
“I often said, ‘Imagine surviving cancer, but not surviving the NHS’, because that’s how I felt due to the inequalities and challenges I faced.
“I think because I am quite assertive and confident and even then, you’re doing this to me, what are you doing to people who don’t have my confidence or assertiveness?”
At Cancer Black Care, Paul said they work with the biggest cancer charities like Macmillan, Prostate Cancer Research, and Prostate Cancer UK. They’ve gone to Number 10 and the House of Commons for several events.
“We position ourselves to be a voice for the communities we represent,” Paul explained, “but we need more resources and funding, so we can help the ones who really need it.”
Paul has done a TV advert with Macmillan, which he found really special, as he was able to represent himself and the communities with “real people, real stories and real impact.” Macmillan’s initiative, Fair Cancer Care, is to make cancer care fairer for all.
Paul said: “At Cancer Black Care, we also have support groups that people can come to and be vulnerable and share their stories, because having gone through that journey, I know how lonely and invisible it is.”
For the charity, Paul aims very high: “We want to grow, we want to evolve. We want to work across as many London boroughs as possible. We want to have an online and face to face presence.
“We want people to know about our services and be supported from diagnosis all the way to the end of the journey. We want people to know that there is a culturally appropriate service out there for individuals.”
He concluded: “Change has to come from within, and Cancer Black Care has been supporting black, mixed and ethnic minority communities for 30 years, and we want to continue doing that work, and exist for the people who are unseen, unheard and are invisible when facing cancer.
“All cancer life matters.”
MyLondon reached out to the NHS and they did not wish to add a comment.
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