A MAJOR charity has chosen Wrexham to launch a bold new initiative which seeks to equip ‘cancer champions’ from all backgrounds with potentially life-saving information for them to share.

Cancer Research UK wants to hear from those who are passionate about helping people around them to reduce their risk of cancer, make an informed choice about screening and spot symptoms of the disease.

The volunteers will receive expert training in the basics of cancer awareness before spreading the word to family, friends, work colleagues and social media groups. The idea is that people will be more inclined to take notice of information coming directly from someone they know – and more likely to act on it.

The appeal comes as new figures show that whilst more than 5,800 people in Wrexham take part in the bowel screening programme each year, it has the lowest uptake - 49.7 per cent - out of the 22 unitary authorities in Wales.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and as part of the NHS Bowel Screening Programme home testing kits are sent out every two years to people aged 60 to 74 in Wales - and upon request after the age of 74.

These kits test people for signs of the disease, and are designed for people who don’t have any symptoms.

Ruth Amies, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for Wrexham, said: “We are on the lookout for people who are passionate about helping to beat cancer sooner and are able to reach a good number of people on our behalf.

“Anyone can be part of our Cancer Awareness Movement, they might be people who are well known in their workplaces or within community groups. They might simply be people who are active within their extended family groups or have significant social media networks.

“What’s most important is that they are passionate about helping Cancer Research UK to improve cancer outcomes in their community by sharing accurate and evidence-based information about ways in which people can reduce their risk of cancer and find out about screening, as well as the importance of acting on any unusual symptoms.

“Early diagnosis is key to improving cancer survival and that’s why raising awareness of cancer screening programmes is also a key focus for this project. Across Wales, 54 per cent of take part in the NHS bowel screening programme. We want to support people in Wrexham who want to take part in bowel screening, to save more lives.”

The charity’s ‘Cancer Awareness Movement’ is being launched in just a handful of areas across the UK with the lowest uptake of bowel screening to help more people make an informed choice about cancer screening.

People who sign up to the movement will join an online training session, led by one of Cancer Research UK’s experts, at a time that’s convenient to them. The training covers basic concepts about preventing cancer and spotting it at an earlier stage.

Once trained, they are then challenged to undertake one of several cancer awareness missions. The missions are short and simple things that make a big difference to helping friends, family and associates become ‘cancer aware’. They involve things like sharing videos on Facebook or having face-to-face conversations about how people can take part in national screening programmes.

Ruth Amies added: “Our movement champions need to be over 18 and able to commit to spending a couple of hours a month to sharing information. Their reward could be helping someone they know to reduce their risk of getting cancer, or even saving someone’s life.”

Anyone interested can sign up by visiting cruk.org/awareness