Asian communities urged to get early cancer checks

Men and women from Bradford's South Asian communities are being urged not to delay getting help if they think they could have cancer.

The advice came during an awareness campaign at the Dawoodi Bohra's Adam Masjid mosque in Girlington to promote the benefits of early detection.

It is part of a wider drive backed by Macmillan Cancer Support and Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI).

Dr Munira Joher, a consultant histopathologist at BRI, said people who went for earlier tests had better outcomes in terms of treatment.

She said: "The word 'cancer' is usually associated with stigma. People don't want to talk about it.

"But if there is awareness and cancer is detected at the early stage then it is preventable and it is completely treatable.

"Outcomes are significantly better if it is diagnosed in the early stages."

Joher's job at the hospital involves the study of organs, tissues, cells and genetics to help provide a diagnosis.

The consultant said: "Usually people from South Asian communities come quite late.

"So because of a lack of awareness, or some social pressure or family pressure, people don't usually approach the medical physicians or clinicians that freely.

"There's a stigma... there's a lump, people don't want to talk about it.

"This is to make them aware that cancer is treatable."

Kutbuddin Raja was 27 when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

Now 58, Raja, from Bradford, said he had initially put off getting checked, while his treatment was further delayed due to an initial misdiagnosis.

He said: "I would say go to your doctor straight away and get sorted out.

"The minute you feel a lump just go. I know men are scared, but just go because I've been through it.

"To be honest I left it for a few months before I went, but I should have gone straight away."

Sherin Pachlasawala, 70, also from Bradford, had her breast cancer detected early after an NHS request for a routine scan in 2023.

She said: "I hadn't felt anything was wrong. I said to them I don't feel anything, I was walking, I was OK.

"But because they found out early they wanted to do the treatment straight away."

She had surgery to remove part of her right breast, and with it the cancer.

The mother-of-two and grandmother-of-three has continued with the routine scans, with her most recent one in December.

She said: "They did it again but it's all fine they said.

"It's not a secret thing now because many people have cancer, but they all get on with their lives."

A fundraising cake sale was held during Monday's awareness evening in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Support charity.

Women from the mosque wore pink or green ridas, traditional headdresses and skirts, to promote awareness of breast cancer.

The men wore white and gold topi caps and a white three-piece outfit known as a saya kurta.

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