Prevention & Screening

Cancer Prevention and Health Education Service

Preventing cancer is important - Cobalt is aware that early detection is the key to successful treatment.

The Cancer Prevention Service and Health Education Department would like to help people recognise symptoms which may be linked to cancer, and understand the importance of reporting symptoms early to their GP's.

Cancer Prevention - lifestyle changes can save lives

Our aim is not to bully or nag but to pass on accurate, informative messages about cancer and ways to become fitter, look better and achieve a healthier lifestyle.

Smoking is responsible for a third of all cancers - don't just give yourself the best present ever; improve the health of your family and friends too by quitting or not smoking in their company. 9 out of 10 lung cancers are caused by smoking. In 2008 over 41,000 people were diagnosed with lung cancer - If people stopped smoking that number would fall to 4,000.There has never been a better time to quit -there's lots of help and support - contact your local NHS Stop Smoking Service free helpline number 0800 022 4332.

Eating a sensible well balanced diet, drinking less alcohol and taking regular exercise can reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

Attend screening appointments, we have three national programmes: bowel cancer screening has now been introduced in Gloucestershire for men and women aged 60-69, cervical screening for women aged 25 - 64 and breast screening for women aged  50 - 70. All these services can and do save lives.

Take care in the sun - you can still burn on sunny days in the Autumn and Spring. Lots of people have winter sunshine breaks and skiing holidays, use a high factor sunscreen of 15+ and reapply regularly. Take care not to burn and ensure children and babies are well protected. Avoid using sun-beds. It is now known that the UVA radiation emitted by sun-beds can cause skin cancer as well as ageing skin prematurely.

Learn how you can Reduce Your Risk