A team who led on a unique project to help improve healthcare for Black African and Caribbean communities in the Black Country has won a cancer award for their hard work and dedication.
Hosted by Macmillan Cancer Support, in partnership with the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB), the Cancer Services Awards 2025 aims to highlight the outstanding contributions that staff are making to cancer care services in the Black Country.
The Black Breasts Matter (BBM) team won the ‘Going Above and Beyond Award’ in recognition of their tireless work over the last three years to address the barriers that Black African and Caribbean women face in seeking help for early symptoms of breast cancer.
Funded by the West Midlands Cancer Alliance and led by the NHS Black Country ICBs Involvement Team, the BBM project is driven by the involvement of eight local voluntary and community sector organisations, who were commissioned to engage with women in the community.
Through these conversations, valuable insights were gathered into the challenges and stigmas they face. These findings then informed the co-design of tailored solutions and interventions, developed in a series of workshops led by Dr. Martin Bollard from the University of Wolverhampton.
Jessie Allen, Researcher & Health and Wellbeing Consultant at JAC Healthcare Ltd, has been involved in the BBM project and attended the awards which took place in March.
She said: “I had the absolute honour of making the acceptance speech on behalf of the BBM project at the Cancer Services Celebrations and Awards for 2025. Our project received the Going Above and Beyond Award for which I wish to thank God and Macmillan Cancer Support, the event organisers, and all who voted for us.
“Our BBM journey has been emotionally and physically challenging, filled with so many lessons, but none greater than the profound power of sisterhood and friendship. I also wish to acknowledge the role NHS Black Country ICB played in nourishing this collaboration.
“BBM is thrilled to be recognised for going above and beyond, but we could not have done it without the over 600 women who opened up and shared their stories with us. It is not easy to talk about health experiences such as living with cancer and we thank them for their generosity in sharing their stories.
“This project was more than just a catalyst for social change, and for tackling health inequalities, it represented sponsored inclusion. Black women were recognised, listened to, and gently invited to the table. There is something deeply moral and spiritual about this legacy of the BBM campaign.”
Click here for more information about the Black Breasts Matter project.
