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It is estimated there are more than 890,000 working-aged people (16 to 65) living with cancer in the UK, and this number is set to rise to 1,150,000 by 2030.
For most people, cancer will be life changing. It can affect people’s personal and professional lives and brings with it lots of challenges along the way.
That is why promoting a healthier lifestyle and rising awareness of the signs of cancer can be critical to preventing it.
How can you encourage your workforce to stay healthy to reduce the risks of cancer?
Promoting awareness
It’s important to encourage awareness of cancers that people might not know how to check for. For instance, emails, posters or office-based events could raise awareness that employees should regularly check their skin and moles for any changes. This can help detect skin cancer at an early stage.
As cancer that’s detected earlier is easier to treat, it’s important to encourage employees to attend targeted cancer screenings if possible.
Targeted cancer screenings are a fantastic way to raise awareness and catch any potential signs early.
Cancer screenings are performed by medical professionals, offering reassurance by looking for signs of cancer.
During a physical examination, a doctor may check for early signs of cancer:
- For prostate cancer, a doctor will gently insert a gloved finger into the rectum to examine the prostate for abnormalities in size or shape.
- For testicular cancer, a doctor will use their fingers and thumb to gently feel the testicles for lumps.
- For breast cancer, a doctor will gently press down on the breast tissue to check for lumps or abnormalities.
If needed, your doctor may recommend further tests. These could include:
- A prostate-specific antigen blood (PSA) test to assess prostate cancer risk.
- A mammogram to x-ray the breasts for possible cancer.
- A stool sample (FIT test) to screen for bowel cancer.
Encouraging healthier lifestyles
Talking about health and wellbeing can sometimes be tricky, but having open conversations at work can make a big difference.
Creating a culture that values wellbeing helps everyone feel comfortable discussing their health in a nonjudgemental environment.
It’s important to provide private and confidential spaces for these talks, with regular catchups with managers and supervisors.
Helping colleagues to quit smoking and motivating them to eat well and exercise, can not only improve their wellbeing and significantly reduce health risks, but it will also boost their focus and productivity at work.
Encourage desk-based workers to move around and allow phone meetings to promote activity.
Employees could also take lunch breaks away from their desks which you can help with by ensuring there are facilities to store, heat up, or buy healthy foods.
If workers need extra support to stop smoking, workplaces could consider developing a smoking cessation policy that allows access to support services during work hours.
If you want to know more ways to support your colleagues with cancer, Bupa has a handy manager guide that you can read here.
Accessing healthcare
Helping employees access healthcare services like doctor’s appointments, cancer screenings, and counselling sessions can be crucial. You could consider:
- Encouraging people to seek help with any health issues straight away.
- Trying to be flexible about the times people can attend medical appointments.
- Making sure people know who to speak to at work about any health concerns they have.
- Promoting more accessible options such as virtual medical appointments, and online support services.
- Signposting people to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) if you have one.
- Encourage people to attend cancer screenings, including during work hours if it’s feasible.
If you are interested in helping your employees have extra reassurance on cancer and want to learn more about detecting cancer earlier, Bupa has a new offer.
For companies of between 100 and 500 employees, get up to £2,000 in your first year of business health cover to spend on targeted cancer screenings.
For mid-corporate schemes starting from 1 April to 1 July 2025. Get a quote before 3 June 2025 by clicking the words Targeted cancer screening.
Look for the signs before symptoms appear, because the earlier cancers found, the easier it is to treat.