UKONS 2016 | Raising awareness of prostate cancer amongst Afro-Caribbean men in the Benjamin’s Brothers campaign

Roger Wheelwright, prostate cancer nurse specialist at John Taylor Hospice, Erdington, UK talks about Benjamin’s Brothers, a campaign to raise awareness of prostate amongst Afro-Caribbean men in Birmingham. Men generally are reluctant to seek medical care, but Afro-Caribbean men are even more hesitant. Men in this group are particularly at risk of prostate cancer with a risk factor of 1 in 4 (compared to a risk factor of 1 in 8 in the white population). With a family history of prostate cancer this risk doubles to 1 in 2. Consequently, John Taylor Hospice created a project called Benjamin’s Brothers that attempted to raise awareness of prostate cancer amongst afro-caribbean men in Birmingham by hosting events at community settings such as church groups, social clubs and barber shops. This also included a local crowdfunding campaign to purchase two prosthetic bottoms that allowed men to do a digital rectal exam themselves. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), held in Brighton, UK.