Interests

Cancer awareness and single issue cancer charities

This fascinates me! When exactly did all of it turn to such nonsense? If you have read my blog and think I hate cancer charities you will be wrong. My concern is very specific - cancer charities' weirdly hard nosed view of people who do not have cancer.

They are good for people who do have cancer, of course. It's not their support, information and research agendas which bother me.

People who do not yet have cancer are the audience for cancer awareness but 'cancer' awareness is totally unachievable through each cancer approached separately. Cancer awareness has turned several shades of nonsense under single issue cancer charities' watch. 

And I'll keeping writing about that :) until

• they stop fudging health promotion into their brand and corporate marketing strategies
• women (and men) who do not have cancer are respected as much as people WITH cancer. They're still service users, you know! This means they stop being treated as 'fair game' and given one sided, one issue only health information, based on the most persuasive PR, out of context with any other health issue (see first bullet point for why I believe this happens). 
• they themselves get more sceptical about the effects of popular cancer rhetoric. 
• they take special measures to raise awareness, promote involvement and patient experience in men and women aged over 75 with cancer. That's harder, I know. But charities aren't there to do the easy thing. 

Policy and research

Have you one-off short and medium term health projects in mind but don't have the capacity or demand to make permanent appointment of staff to deliver them? I may be able to help. I am particularly interested in projects that concern cancer care and services for men and women aged 75 and over.

I am an experienced creative thinker on health and medical issues for small and medium sized health charities. I can organise and present strategic options to small organisations, as well as deliver practical information based projects or research assistance e.g. reviewing and summarising your key medical facts and sourcing new ones for information that supports your arguments in funding applications.

Does your health charity need evidence to support campaigns on behalf of your patient group? Have you wondered about using the Freedom of Information Act to do this, but are worried about the time it'll take or the vagaries of the process? Do you have concerns that using the Act might affect important funding or service delivery relationships?

You might need a 'secret agent'...... 

I am keen to turn my theoretical knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act, taught by Heather Brooke the journalist who exposed the MPs expenses scandal, into practical experience. My knowledge of official health data may show there is another way to the information you want but, if there isn't, I could help draft your question, identify where exactly to send it, oversee the process and obtain the results on your behalf. 

I can also research and draft patient information content for websites or leaflets.