Leanne – Health winner

‘Black women need to talk about cancer’

LEANNE Pero was shocked when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, aged just 30.

The subject was virtually taboo within her community. “I felt like the only girl of my age in the world with cancer,” says Leanne, now 35, from south London. “There’s a myth that cancer is not a ‘black disease’.”

Her mum had already battled cancer twice, and Leanne went on to have chemo, a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery, and hormone treatment.

After beating the illness, she opened up about her experiences on her blog, and was flooded with messages from other women.

She invited them to a coffee morning, and later persuaded some of them to join her and other cancer survivors in posing for a moving photo exhibition baring their surgery scars.

Leanne has since created a podcast of the women’s stories as well as launching a magazine.

Now she has been recognised with a National Lottery Award and £3,000 funding for her organisation Black Women Rising.

Leanne says: “It’s incredibly important to me that other black women have the chance to talk about their cancer experiences. By sharing stories, we can make a change.”