Partnership casts its net to bring cancer care to fishermen

FOR as long as there has been a fishing industry, those going out to sea have been hard to reach when it comes to healthcare.

Now a pioneering partnership between Macmillan Cancer Support and the Fisherman’s Mission has launched in North Shields to help bring cancer care to them.

The C-Aware project launched last week and is a three-year pilot to help design cancer services around the needs of the fishing community.

Three members of Macmillan staff will work with the Fisherman’s Mission to run cancer focus groups, recruit cancer champions, and help provide advice and support on the Fish Quay itself.

The project will also see work with health services to address the needs of a community where the nature of being out to sea means healthcare appointments are not always fit for purpose.

This will build on the Fisherman’s Mission’s SeaFit initiative – though North Shields is now the first place to pilot C-Aware.

Speaking at a launch event on the Fish Quay, retired fisherman and secretary of the Fisherman’s Association Brian Chambers spoke of the difference the project will make.

Brian, 73, has lost parents and siblings to cancer and survived bowel cancer twice himself. Brian first went to sea at 16, though after nine of his best friends died in the Gaul fishing disaster in 1974, he

It was only in a

spell of bad weather that I got

myself checked

Port manager Nik Hanlon and Deb Johnstone of the C-Aware project couldn’t face returning to a boat.

He told The Chronicle: “When I was young working down here and going out to sea, there was no such thing as seeing a doctor. There was no health and wellbeing, no health and safety. If we had this down here in the ‘70s then mates might have been treated earlier and lived another 25 years. “If we can get this to work here, it will save lives and work wonders.”

Colin Graham, 42, has had his own brush with the disease. He said: “I have just had the all clear from a melanoma skin cancer. I was lucky to be a bit aware of getting checked out.

“The problem is when the fishing is good, you don’t want to be taking time off. It was only in a spell of bad weather that I got myself checked.”

Tony Millin, a lobster fisherman, highlighted how the nature of business made getting check-ups less of a priority than it could be.

He said: “When the conditions allow, I am out for 10 hours fishing in a day, often at short notice. A year ago, I requested a bowel cancer screening kit from my GP.

“The tests came back clear and just knowing it wasn’t anything more serious than a muscular issue was a huge relief. Having a cancer awareness programme will be a major boon for a community that I know often doesn’t feel it has time to prioritise health.”

Nik Hanlon, 37, port manager at the Fish Quay, said: “It is very important something is being done, fishermen don’t ask for help. Fishermen are totally dependent on the weather and the tides, needing to go to sea at short notice and the work takes priority over everything else. It’s not like a normal job. We want to change things and make it better and easier to access support.”

Deb Johnstone is managing the C-Aware programme at the Fish Quay. She said: “We will be developing bespoke methods to engage with this community to remove stigmas and myths associated with cancer screening and diagnosis as well as pushing for relevant Information and signposting to aid in rebuilding connections to cancer community services and promoting cancer aftercare.”