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1 September 2011
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) is supporting Blue September, an international campaign to raise awareness of cancer in men. The campaign launched in England and Wales on the 1st September with the support of a wide range of sportsmen, celebrities and politicians as well as health and sports organisations. It aims to raise awareness among UK men and women about all the cancers that can affect men. It also urges men to take preventative action by improving their lifestyle choices and to seek medical advice as soon as possible if they have a worrying symptom. The campaign is run by Men’s Health Forum (MHF), a charity which aims to help improve the health and well-being of men and boys in England and Wales. Speaking in support of the Blue September campaign Graham Phillips, RPS English Pharmacy Board member said,“The earlier detection of cancer through pharmacy is one of our priorities. Unusually in healthcare settings, people visit pharmacies when they are feeling well, giving pharmacists a big scope for early intervention. “Results of an RPS clinical audit on lung cancer have shown that pharmacists have an important role to play in the early detection of cancer. Similar numbers of men and women presented with potential symptoms of lung cancer during the audit period. The relatively high proportion of men presenting with symptoms also reinforces community pharmacy as a point of access to health advice for men. Blue September offers the opportunity for pharmacists and their teams to play an important part in raising awareness by providing patient information about cancer in the pharmacy, talking to patients who exhibit symptoms and referring on to GP’s if required.”