Cancer is one of the cruellest diseases that can take someone's life. It has no prejudices when it comes to who it attacks - it doesn't matter if you're a 'good person or bad', young or old, black or white.
But what we can have some control over is ensuring people are aware of its symptoms and that its victims and survivors receive the treatment and support they need. Not just medically with treatments such as chemotherapy, but psychologically too, even after treatment has ended.
A collective sharing their stories to raise awareness that cancer isn't just a white person's disease - a myth that has circulated within the BAME community - is Black Women Rising (BWR). The support project was set up in 2017 by award-winning community champion Leanne Pero after she struggled with the aftermath of her own battle with breast cancer at just 30-years-old.
She found that black women with cancer were excluded from mainstream media and campaigns, which further fueled misconceptions and for women that looked like to her to shy away from sharing their experiences.
One woman from the group, Sharon Marshall Green, 51, explains to The Mirror that the only women she knew to have cancer at the time of her diagnosis in 2016 were women who had kept it hidden, only revealing to her what happened when she opened up.
The mum-of-four, from Leeds and lives in Croydon, south London, who is the chair of trustees for BWR, was told by doctors she had stage three breast cancer after she found a lump in her breast.
She says her GP was great with immediately referring her, but the consultant she later saw assumed it wasn't cancer and only sent her for a further check due to her age, having hit 45.
"I'm pretty sure that it's benign' is what she said. Because of my age at the time, she said 'I have to send you for a mammogram and ultrasound and a biopsy.'
"So my age actually, probably saved my life. It was because of my age she had to send me. I was lucky."
Once it was confirmed as cancer, and once doctors realised the severity, Sharon had lymph nodes removed and a lumpectomy - where the abnormal tissue is removed.
She endured eight rounds of chemotherapy, a month of radiotherapy, nearly a year of hormone injections, and is still taking hormone therapy Tamoxifen now.
The employment consultant let it be known what she was going through and while she adored her long locks that reached past her hip, she shaved her head and embraced her baldness.
She felt supported by those around her and by speaking out, she had prompted two of her friends to see their GP about the lumps they had found.
"I think because I sort of owned it, it made it a lot easier for people to start accepting it and think 'right she's dealing with it, so I can show my support," she adds.
But when Sharon was handed leaflets in hospital, she couldn't believe that the only image depicted of a woman with cancer appeared to be an elderly white woman.
"With Black Women Rising, it's not even just about women of colour," she begins. "One of the posters I saw, there was no representation of colour, there was no representation of younger women.
"I think it's that stigma attached to women over a certain age. And this is why I think we need to change that narrative. Because that's why a lot of younger women may feel they don't have to do it [check their breasts] because 'they don't get it'".
Sharon is speaking up this Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Black History Month as statistics show black women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer compared to their white counterparts, and black women are less likely to go for a mammogram when invited by the NHS.
Meanwhile, a BWR survey of 100 women of colour in the UK who were either living with or have survived breast cancer found that 69 per cent of respondents did not find a woman of colour to relate to once diagnosed, 46 per cent of respondents were told their symptoms were not cancer before being officially diagnosed, and 96 per cent of respondents reported that they didn't see women of colour being represented in the media talking about breast cancer.
Sharon came across the lottery-funded project, which has around 200 members, after meeting a woman in the hospital who had chemo on the same day as her.
She had previously attended a local support group but found she stood out, making it harder for her to connect and open up.
"They were really nice but there wasn't anyone that I could relate to, even in terms of age," Sharon recalls.
"On the morning of the BWR support group, my friend said she couldn't make it.
“So I thought, right, I'm going to go by myself. And I haven't looked back. I think one of the most amazing things I've ever done is walk into that room.
"It gave me a voice. It gave me support. It made me feel that a horrible situation could turn into a positive one.
"If I can help one person as much as I feel I've been supported, it means everything."
They hold monthly peer support groups - categorised by age - that moved online during the coronavirus lockdown, which now means women from across the country can join them, even as far as America.
When asked about why the peer groups work, Sharon continues: "Sometimes people think when treatment finishes, that's it.
"Well, actually, a lot of it is when that treatment finishes - that's when the real problems begin: psychologically, physically, mentally.
"It's about reassurance, it's about asking questions, informing women, and letting women feel empowered to then be able to ask certain questions to medical professionals."
Sharon admits that women in the project and founder Leanne have been trolled for speaking up about their different experiences as black women dealing with cancer.
She adds: "It's not about being divisive like people have accused of us being, it's about ensuring there is no inequality for us all.
"Things are changing and that change is opening the eyes of so many people who may not necessarily have thought it could affect their lives."
Black Women Rising is part of The Leanne Pero Foundation - a charity offering vital help, information and practical advice, primarily for people of colour cancer patients and survivors - which was recently gifted with a grant by Macmillan Cancer Support.
The money allows them to continue their awareness campaigns, which includes a new video featuring some of their members and the Labour MP Dawn Butler, and in the past, the project created the UK's first all-black cancer portrait exhibition.
Leanne Pero told The Mirror: "Black History Month is always a beautiful time to highlight and celebrate the achievements of people of colour and how far we have come.
"It's also a time where we can unapologetically challenge racial perceptions and continual injustice we have to face on a day-to-day basis through healthy conversations about our lived experiences.
"Through The Leanne Pero Foundation, we do just that and want to continue to amplify the voices of our members so that their lived experiences can be heard and in turn, help raise awareness within the Black community.
"We know only too well how vital this is. It ultimately saves lives. Our four years of success has shown us the differences that can be made when we speak up.
"We need allies, funding and support to continue our programmes of work."
Dr Habib Naqvi, director of the NHS Race and Health Observatory - which works to identify and tackle ethnic inequalities in health and care by facilitating research, making health policy recommendations and enabling long-term transformational change - said: "It is essential that images featured in marketing communications and information leaflets for cancer patients include diverse representation.
"To increase awareness of national public health campaigns, information and engagement methods need to be culturally sensitive and tailored to reach the right audience across inclusive formats and platforms.
"A blanket 'one size fits all' approach is not acceptable when it comes to raising awareness and providing information about killer diseases and serious health conditions to our diverse communities."
UK data shows people from an ethnic minority background are underrepresented in clinical trials, so to combat this, the NHS Race and Health Observatory is currently working in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support to improve access to clinical trials for black and ethnic minority women with breast cancer. You can find more information here.
You can also find more information about Black Women Rising and the support they provide here. If you feel a lump in your breast, you should always get it checked by a GP. Most breast lumps are harmless, but some can be serious. Please head to the NHS website for more information on what you should do here.
Do you have a story to share? Please get in touch at saffron.otter@reachplc.com
