Ovarian cancer campaign
For information about ovarian cancer symptoms for the public, check out our webpage
Public awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer can support timely presentation in primary care and drive earlier diagnosis. Be Clear on Cancer (BCOC) campaigns were carried out to raise awareness of key symptoms of cancer and encourage people to go to their GP without delay.
Why were the campaigns run?
Be Clear on Cancer has promoted awareness and early diagnosis of ovarian cancer since 2013. It was piloted locally from January to March 2013 and progressed to a regional pilot until 2014 in the North-West of England.
The campaign was timely due to the approval of CA125 as a diagnostic test for ovarian cancer within primary care and work to support direct access to non-obstructive ultrasound. This meant that diagnosing and excluding ovarian cancer was simpler for GPs than before.
Who did the campaigns target?
The campaign targeted all women over 50, the age group most at risk of developing ovarian cancer, and their friends and family.
The campaign also included events in various public locations across North-West England like shopping centres.
What were the key messages?
The campaign’s key message was ‘Feeling bloated, most days, for three weeks or more could be a sign of ovarian cancer. Tell your doctor’. The advertising explains that finding cancer early makes it more treatable.
Focusing on just one key symptom kept the message simple and direct. A panel of experts and clinicians advised that, of the symptoms highlighted in the NICE guidelines, persistent abdominal distension (bloating) was the key possible sign of ovarian cancer.
It was essential to highlight the importance of symptom persistence and after testing with the target audience, women suggested that the campaign needed to clearly explain what ‘persistent bloating’ means in everyday language.
Be Clear on Cancer uses everyday language, so the description in the NICE guidelines (more than 12 times per month) was reworded to reflect how women would describe persistent bloating.
This key message was promoted through a range of different channels across the North-West TV region, including regional television, radio and press.
What was the impact of the campaigns?
Results from local pilot campaigns, which ran from January to March 2013, showed:
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Confidence in knowledge of symptoms of ovarian cancer increased significantly from 20% to 31% of people in the pilot area after the campaign.
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57% of women agreed that ‘the advertising told me something new’.
Read the local pilot report on the ovarian cancer campaign here.
Resources
Several resources were created for the campaigns including briefing sheets for GPs, Nurses and Practice managers, as well as campaign resources for patients which included easy-to-read versions. Below are a few examples:
Be Clear on Cancer statement
Be Clear on Cancer was a cancer awareness campaign led by Public Health England, working in partnership with the Department of Health and NHS England. This page contains links to documents that we hope you find useful. Please note however that the views or opinions expressed within those links are not necessarily those of Cancer Research UK.