Health group calls for no smoking support
A Wearside health group is backing those who have given up cigarettes for Stoptober – and it’s not too late to join in.
Sunderland GP Alliance (SGPA) has urged smokers to quit for 28 days starting in October.
The idea is that if you can do it for 28 days then you can do it for good.
Sunderland has the highest percentage of smokers in the North East, with one in five adults lighting up regularly.
The city is 6% above the national average for smoking prevalence.
Sunderland GP Alliance now hosts a specialist cancer awareness development service designed to get information out into the community, which is funded by the Northern Cancer Alliance.
The new team is focusing on the top five cancers, which are lung, bowel, breast, prostate and cervical cancer.
Ashleigh Gordon-Pucci who manages the service said: “Sunderland GP Alliance is all about innovation and integration in primary care.
“So it’s right for us to be hosting this important service.
“It gives us the capacity to go out into the community and raise awareness of the symptoms of these common cancers, which can devastate individuals and families.”
The team is happy to attend any venue, including social clubs, care homes and bingo halls.
Anyone who would like the team to visit their business or organisation in either Sunderland or South Tyneside to give a talk on understanding more about early diagnosis and treatment of common cancers, should contact either Georgina Blythe or James Coker at Georgina. blythe@nhs.net or James. coker@nhs.net.