Cancer Awareness Course

The site has appointed a ‘Cancer Champion’, David Armstrong, who is a cancer survivor. David recognised that construction is still a male dominated industry, and believes that men are reluctant to seek medical attention until it is often late.

At the National Horizons Centre, Wates launched an on site Cancer Awareness Course, a course which Wates will soon be introducing on all of their sites.

The four hour course put on by HealthWORKS saw 10 attendees from Wates and the supply chain become the next generation of Cancer Champions. As a result of the course, attendees are now much better informed about:

• Who is at risk of getting cancer.
• Signs and symptoms of cancer.
• What can cause cancer.
• Healthier lifestyles.
• Cancer screening.

The course looks at the issue from a completely different perspective. It is much more than just a presentation or information course, it looks at how to tackle these difficult issues with colleagues, family members and friends, and it can really save lives. The attendees learned how best to spread the information they received to others in their workplaces and to their family and friends.

The National Horizon Centre Cancer Champions feel confident in their ability to:

• Raise awareness of information about cancer by word of mouth and the distribution of information.
• Signpost people to a range of services.
• Assist in giving information to others.
• Motivate people to seek early medical assistance.