Sarah Christie, nation lead at Macmillan Cancer Support, said that the traditional way of getting cancer messaging out wasn’t working for farmers.
“We can put as much information through our Public Health Agency, through Macmillan, but will it resonate, will it land and do farmers actually have time to engage with it?
“So by bringing vets into this conversation the people that are constantly out on farms, looking at their lifestyles, they’re a real trusted partner in those communities.”
And an early diagnosis can save lives.
“Farmers do put things off until it gets to the point where things are maybe a little too late. For example, with bowel cancer, if you’re diagnosed at stage one your five-year survival is at 90%,” she continued.
“If that’s diagnosed at stage four, the latest stage of diagnosis, survival for five years or more is reduced drastically to only 10%, which is a shocking statistic, and really shows the need for those early interventions.