Research to highlight “seldom heard voices” of womb cancer patients
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Researchers exploring the impact of womb cancer on different ethnic groups are recruiting patients to the first study of its kind in the UK.
Womb cancer, also known as uterine or endometrial cancer, is the most common gynaecological cancer in the UK with nearly 10,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
While research in the USA has shown that Black patients diagnosed with womb cancer face significantly worse outcomes compared to patients from different ethnic groups, this new study in the UK will examine the experiences of Black African, African Caribbean, Black British and Mixed Black ethnicity patients who have undergone treatment for womb cancer, from diagnosis to treatment, and their outcomes.
Clinical researchers from the University of Leicester will combine with colleagues from the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre at De Montfort University to listen to the experiences of patients and their families. The study is funded by the British Gynaecological Cancer Society (BGCS).
Dr Esther Moss, Associate Professor of Gynaecological Oncology at the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, leads the study and said: “The awareness of womb cancer, treatment journeys and the barriers experienced by patients from the UK Black population who have been diagnosed with womb cancer has not previously been investigated. As a result, their voices are seldom heard.
“Our study will be the first to explore challenges and deficiencies in the provision of womb cancer care for Black women in the UK and, importantly their lived experience and the experiences of their families’ following diagnosis.”
Researchers will interview patients who have been treated for womb cancer and family members of patients, so as to learn about their personal experience of treatment, or experiences of caring for a family member with womb cancer.
Dr Natalie Darko, Associate Professor in collaboration with the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre and project co-investigator, added: “We hope that the insights and information obtained from this study will guide the development of culturally-sensitive clinical services aimed at reducing health inequalities and improving womb cancer diagnosis, treatment and survival in Black women in the UK.”
Participants in the study must be over the age of 18 and resident in the UK. For more information on the study, contact the research team on leicesterGCRG@le.ac.uk or call 0116 252 3170.
‘Understanding seldom heard voices: Black African, Caribbean, Black British and Mixed-Black women’s views and experiences of womb cancer diagnosis, diagnostic pathways, and treatment in the UK’ is funded by British Gynaecological Cancer Society.