‘This Van Can…’ and it did, as our latest awareness roadshow reaches over 8,000 people!
This spring, as part of our activity for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, we partnered with the NHS Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance and the Dianne Oxberry Trust to go on tour around Greater Manchester.
The ‘This Van Can…’ project enabled us to speak to over 8,000 people in the local community about the symptoms of ovarian cancer and encourage them to contact their GP about any concerns.
The main goal of the project was to improve symptoms awareness of ovarian cancer and help members of the public throughout Greater Manchester know what to look out for and when to contact their GP. This approach is amongst the first of its kind nationally and all parties involved agree it has been highly successful.
In total, the ‘This Van Can…’ project delivered 36 events across the 10 localities of Greater Manchester. According to the NHS Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, the project enabled us to speak to 8,296 people which hugely exceeded the initial target by 135 per cent.
To capture a sense of how effective the van was, and all the activity happening within it, the team collected almost 2,000 surveys from attendees during the six-week period. Some key statistics from those surveys include:
- 84 per cent of respondents said they were very likely to contact their GP should they notice signs and symptoms
- 84 per cent of respondents said they feel confident to ask their GP for the correct diagnostic testing for ovarian cancer
- 87 per cent of respondents said they now had a very good understanding of the risk factors
Perhaps most importantly, the surveys highlighted that the average understanding of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer increased by almost 4 times after interacting with a van ambassador. A huge improvement for symptoms awareness in the area.
We recognised the experience and expertise of the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance team in delivering symptom awareness campaigns through the This Van Can initiative. Collaborating with both them and the Dianne Oxberry Trust on this project, we were confident that we could spark real change and bring about improved awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms across the Greater Manchester region. Looking at the feedback, it looks like we are on our way to achieving that.
This project has recently been shortlisted for the NHS Communications Initiative of the Year Award. Winners of the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards will be announced on 20 November 2025.
Watch our Symptoms Awareness Roadshow themed ThisVanCan:
