Charity tackling male cancers wins top UK health award

Following a rigorous selection and assessment process, Orchid Cancer Appealwas chosen from more than 500 charities across the UK as one of the 10 winners of the 2024 GSK IMPACT Awards which are delivered in partnership with The King’s Fund. Now in its 27th year, the awards are a mark of excellence in the charity sector, designed to recognise the outstanding work of small and medium-sized charities working to improve people’s health and wellbeing in the UK.  

Orchid Cancer Appeal, established in 1996, is the UK’s leading charity supporting those affected by all three types of male specific cancers. As an award winner, Orchid Cancer Appeal will now receive £40,000 in unrestricted funding as well as expert support and leadership development provided by leading health and care charity, The King’s Fund.

Each year more than 55,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with a male specific cancer, and numbers are increasing. There are also significant inequalities in the prevalence and survival rates of men with cancer. Research has found that Black African and Black Caribbean men are twice as likely to get prostate cancer than other men, and twice as likely to die from it. Additionally, men in Scotland are almost three times more likely to be diagnosed too late for a cure for prostate cancer compared to those in London.

The award win comes at a time when the triple threat of rising costs, falling income and increased demand continues to put small charities and their finances under extreme pressure. Despite this, the award judges were impressed by the wide-ranging work Orchid Cancer Appeal does to raise awareness amongst the public and health care professionals to spot signs and symptoms of male cancer, for example through roadshows and other outreach programmes. A free telephone counselling service is available for men diagnosed with either penile or testicular cancer - the signs and symptoms of which can be less well known. Seven in ten people who contact the charity’s helpline for support are calling about testicular and penile cancer.

The award judges also commended the charity’s determination to target communities most in need and its ability to build strong partnerships across the health and charity sectors to amplify its reach.

Orchid Cancer Appeal undertakes a programme of work in ten cities, including Birmingham and Nottingham, to train ‘Community Champions’, particularly from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds. The champions are trained to share information with their networks and into their local communities. To date, the charity has worked with champions within prisons, worked with Black faith leaders to impart information to their congregations, and piloted the use of an interpreter to give talks on male cancers to the Kurdish community in London, which is now being extended to the deaf community and other ethnic backgrounds. The charity is also running a targeted awareness campaign for trans women about prostate cancer. Since May 2021, the Community Champions have had almost 8,500 individual conversations about prostate cancer, disseminated almost 20,000 factsheets and used 7,700 leaflets to signpost people to further help. Data collected by the charity shows that 95% of people felt they had more knowledge of signs and symptoms as a result.

The award judges also praised the charity’s work to improve understanding of male specific cancers including possible causes, potential new treatments and ways of enhancing care. One of the research projects the charity supports is for a tissue bank at Barts Cancer Institute in London, which holds tumours from nine separate clinical trials and almost 10,000 cancer specimens covering all three male cancers. This resource is made available to medical researchers around the world.

Lisa Weaks, Senior Associate at The King’s Fund, said: “Through its creative and inclusive approach, Orchid Cancer Appeal has developed a unique way of reaching those who are more likely to be diagnosed with male specific cancers and is working hard to reduce the gap in poor health outcomes across different communities. It spreads awareness of signs and symptoms, supports those who are diagnosed with these often-devastating diseases, and funds research into the causes and treatment of cancer. For a small charity with very few staff, through their tireless campaigning and research driven focus, they have a substantial reach and impact to support the cancer community.”

Commenting on the award, Ali Orhan, CEO of Orchid Cancer Appeal, said: “We are absolutely delighted and proud that our work has been recognised in this way. It’s both a great honour and privilege to now be part of the GSK Impact Award ‘Family’ alongside all the current and previous winners. The training and the recognition that comes with the Award will help us take the charity forward with the ultimate goal of reaching more people at risk of prostate, testicular or penile cancer and better supporting those living with a diagnosis. Lastly, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the judges for selecting us as a winner.”

Developing leaders in the charity sector is a key aim of the GSK IMPACT Awards programme and all winners are invited to build on their success and take part in a tailored leadership development programme run by The King’s Fund.