Published on 3 July 2023
Liverpool students have been given an insight into the work of the Cancer Alliance and a pioneering project to find lung cancer at its earliest stages.
The 16 University of Liverpool students joined representatives from Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance (CMCA) for a day-long session on the Targeted Lung Health Check (TLHC) programme.
The Cancer Alliance’s Max Thomasson, Ed Bourne, Sharon Row and Millie Wells delivered activities on a range of topics to give the understanding and context needed to analyse the role of the TLHC programme and its impact on Cheshire and Merseyside.
The students heard about the history of the programme itself, knowledge of health inequality in the region and the importance of effective and trustworthy communication to the public. They took part in a focus group to discuss potential barriers to local people accessing the programme, as well as reviewing communications and promotional material the NHS has used to raise awareness of the programme both locally and nationally. There was also a comprehensive fundamentals of cancer and cancer care session, which was well received.
THLCs have been rolled out in Liverpool, Knowsley, Halton and, more recently, south Sefton and St Helens, giving eligible people the opportunity to have access to a free lung cancer screening at selected locations.
The TLHC programme has been successful in acting as a proactive initiative to increase the number of lung cancers detected at an early stage. Historically, the majority lung cancer patients present to health services at stages 3 and 4, when treatment is challenging. The TLHC programme flips this trend, with evidence so far showing that around 70% of lung cancers identified through the checks are at an early stage, when curative treatment is much more successful.
However, the programme nationally has been struggling with a relatively low uptake rate – about 60% of those invited to take part in the programme decline to do so.
At the workshop, students gave their views on a communications strategy to increase participation rates in the Liverpool area. Feedback collected from the students was very valuable and will be reported back to the Cancer Alliance’s TLHC team.
Max, CMCA’s Health Inequalities and PMO Lead for Targeted Lung Health Checks, said: “We would like to thank the University of Liverpool School of the Arts for its fantastic support for the project and we hope to continue working closely with them. We’d also like to thank all the students who joined – their engagement and insights were incredibly valuable.
“We believe the student-led sessions were particularly successful and it was amazing seeing all the contributions from everyone involved. We hope the day gave everyone an interesting insight into the Cancer Alliance’s involvement in the TLHC programme and provided some of the context and information used by the NHS to plan and shape new projects.”
Sam Bird, the University’s SOTA Employability and Placements Officer, said: “The TLHC programme is such an important initiative within the community and to have our SOTA students learning more about the programme and contributing their own ideas and thoughts into discussions about health inequality, barriers to access and community engagement, was absolutely brilliant.”
English student Lizzie Bridgewater said: “I really enjoyed it and felt everyone got something out of the day. I’ll definitely be putting it on my CV.”
Strategic Communication student Anjali said: “I think this is one of the most enriching moments of my university life, having practical knowledge from industry professionals.”