Our Story
History
A HISTORICAL LOOK AT CANCER BLACK CARE
Cancer Black Care (CBC) was founded in 1995.
The name was given to it by Isaac Dweben, a young black man who witnessed his older brother die from prostate cancer in 1992. The experience Isaac went through stayed with him as he recognised that his brother had little or no support throughout the course of his treatment. He realised just how much cancer was feared, not spoken about and viewed as a secret disease in his community.
Isaac vowed to do something about it and so in 1995 he set up a support group to give advice and to help his fellow men and women in the black and diverse minority communities.
Isaac’s vision was to set up support groups all over the major cities in the country and so in 1996, the Hackney, Dalston Lane CBC Information Centre was officially opened.
In 2001 on the 26th October the Brent and Harrow branch was officially opened at 79 Acton Lane, North West London. The project Manager was Natalie Forbes and Diana Collymore and Ms Raval were Cancer Information officers. The Rt Hon. Paul Boateng was present at the opening along with Dr Frank Chinegwundoh.
On 15th February 2002 the South East London Branch was officially opened at 112 Denmark Hill, Camberwell, a few yards away from the Kings College Hospital. This was a prime spot and attracted a lot of people heading towards the hospital.
Branches in Birmingham and Manchester followed shortly after.
In the Highgate district of Birmingham, Magnolia House opened its doors to CBC information centre. Rosemary Henry, who worked in the NHS for over 20 years after leaving the Armed Services was the project coordinator. The Manchester Branch opened shortly after in the Hulme area.
CBC South East London branch operated in a wide catchment area that included, Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth. This branch was already holding regular support group sessions in July 2001 before the branch officially opened. A small hall was hired at the local Methodist Church in Camberwell. These sessions lasted for two-hours which enabled patients, friends and family members to share experiences of how to cope and live with cancer. These sessions were held every first Saturday of the month, between 2-4pm. These sessions continue to this day.
In 2002 CBC was staffed by a Project Manager named Felix Dartey-Yeboah, along with Maureen Rugona, Melanie Ridge, Deloris Lewinson who were Information and outreach-development officers, and Suresh Rambaran who was the Cancer Information officer. These workers also facilitated the monthly support group meetings.
The offices of CBC functioned on a daily basis, with regular opening hours and accommodated clients, carers, family members, visitors from the various funding agencies, the local MP Harriet Harman, the Mayor, doctors and healthcare workers.
In September 2002 Jean Ambrose, a service user from South East London and her friend Susan took part in the Flora Women’s Challenge fun run in Hyde Park. They raised £609 (at the time a large sum). She was able to purchase for the branch, a TV, video machine, DVD camera, toaster, cutlery set, kettle, mugs and the balance was presented in a cheque to the group in December at the support group meeting.
The monthly support group would attract mainly black women and men, young and old with various cancers and at different stages of their cancer journeys. We often had befriending sessions where clients and carers would volunteer to support any one who attended, building up a friendship and support. This enabled us to go with the clients to their hospital and doctors appointments.
There were often speakers from the NHS and other groups, dieticians and nurse specialists, complimentary therapies and herbal therapies.
In 2005, the offices in Camberwell, Denmark Hill closed. The three year funding period had come to an end and no funding had been raised. A very sad time for the members. The offices were closed with nowhere provided for the members to go to support each other, share their experiences and meet in a space where they felt comfortable expressing themselves.
Jean Ambrose and Rawle Price who were at the time members were adamant that they would continue the monthly support group as they felt their shared experiences gave both strength and confidence to each other in times of grave despair navigating a cancer diagnosis and treatment journey.
However at that time Viveen (who worked for CBC in Brent) was facilitating the support group in the South East London, thankfully, she managed to find premises at the Southwark Pensioners Centre, which is in Camberwell, This meant that the once monthly support group would be able to resume which continues to this day.
We have had many guest speakers come to the group, including MacMillan nurses, Black Woman Rising, Merlee Harris’ Retreat, the late Dr Rose Thompson, St Christopher’s Hospice representatives, the great dub poet Linton Kewsi Johnson and many other authors with their books, to mention a few.
Rawle Price and Jean Ambrose started running the support group in South East London, which has run continuously for the past 18 years. During the pandemic the support group was forced to close, within that period, the support sessions were delivered online via zoom, until we were able to meet face to face again.
CBC Support Group
As the seasons unfolded, we joyously welcomed 1 to 3 new clients each month, marking a year of growth and camaraderie. With the arrival of spring, our group initiated sessions with a heartwarming tradition of sharing and pairing.
During these sessions, both seasoned and newly joined members opened up about their personal journeys living with cancer. The exchange of experiences fostered a sense of understanding and connection within our community. To enhance this supportive environment, participants were paired up to provide mutual support and advice, creating a network of strength and encouragement.
Adding to the inspirational atmosphere, we often invited motivational speakers to lead these sessions, imparting valuable insights and uplifting messages to inspire and empower our members.
During the summer a variety of activities were provided for the members, which included fun days out in the park around the boroughs, theatre, and cinema visits and trips to the seaside.
Autumn and Winter saw the group planning the October black history month session and our end of year celebrations. In some years we lose friends and members of the group, so at these difficult times we support and attend homegoings and wakes.
During the Covid lockdown, our head office in North West London closed its doors to the public and remains so to this day. The work of the organisation continues to function and our new CEO Paul Campbell is busy trying to locate new premises for our North West London branch to open to the public once again.
After some twenty six (26) years of CBC it is clear to see that this organisation continues to represent the diverse cancer community. Its vision to bring educational awareness about cancer to black communities so that no one suffers or dies from preventable and treatable cancers continues to unite us to this day.
– Jean Ambrose