Backstory
In 2026, the TDC youth and participation workers had a consultation with our young people in Moulsecoomb surrounding the question ‘What makes you angry’, which started a brilliant conversation regarding issues that young people face and opened the question about what we can do to help alleviate that. The biggest issue that we found across all young people we spoke to, was health inequalities. It became clear that health inequalities are such a prominent issue for young people, from not being taught what is normal for their body, to feeling like health professionals don’t take them seriously when they raise a concern.
This meant that the youth and participation workers could take this information and form a focus group that covered health and well-being, which bought health professionals together with the young people so they could get answers for questions that they may not be able to ask elsewhere, build relationships with local health providers and ultimately feel more confident in speaking to professionals.
The session
One of these health and well-being sessions was surrounding breast cancer awareness. The young people invited in one of TDCs Act on Cancer Together staff members, Amy, to run a workshop which let them take a look at resources, including leaflets from Coppafeel, and getting to feel a fake breast so they can get a feel for how they should be checking themselves.
The session opened up some brilliant conversation and the young people asked questions to Amy regarding what is normal, how to check themselves regularly, and what they should do if they have a concern. The following video, recorded and edited by filmmaker Amber shares more about the session in action…
Resources
Act on Cancer Together (ACT) – ACT is a local partnership between The Trust for Developing Communities (TDC) and The Hangleton and Knoll Project. It is supported by Macmillan Cancer Support, Brighton and Hove City Council, Public Health and NHS Sussex. You can read more about them here: Act on Cancer Together – TDC
CoppaFeel! – The UK’s only youth-focused breast cancer awareness charity. Their mission is to ensure all breast cancers in young people are diagnosed early and accurately. They offer amazing support regarding breast cancer, including a FREE text service to UK phone numbers which will text you a reminder on the 1st of every month reminding you to check your chest! Read more about them here: CoppaFeel! | Check Your Chest | Breast Cancer Awareness Charity
Get in touch
If you are interested in the ACT project, or want to learn more about what the youth & participation team do, please feel free to get in contact! Contact details are on the relevant pages below for these projects.
ACT: Act on Cancer Together – TDC
Connect participation: Connect Participation – TDC
