Cancer awareness campaigns

Public awareness campaigns including ‘Be Clear on Cancer' (BCoC) and ‘Help Us Help You' (HUHY) are examples of the primary national cancer interventions that focus on: 

• raising awareness of the importance of an early diagnosis of cancer 

• encouraging people to see their GP sooner

The awareness campaigns are run by NHS England and Department of Health and Social Care. The National Cancer and Analysis Service (NCRAS) manages the evaluation of some of these campaigns.

You can view a blog here  which shows what the team learned when they examined the data and evaluated the effectiveness of one of the national cancer awareness campaigns.

The cancer awareness campaigns use multiple media channels with simple messages to: 

• raise awareness of the potential signs and symptoms of cancer

• encourage people to contact their GP promptly, for a greater chance of an earlier diagnosis

The campaigns are typically active for around 6 weeks. They are often tested locally and regionally before being rolled out nationally if proven to be effective.

The impact of cancer awareness campaigns is evaluated using a range of metrics reflecting key points in the patient pathway.

Evaluation measures include: 

• public awareness of key campaign messages

• GP attendances

• urgent GP referrals

• diagnostic tests

• incidence

• proportion of early stage at diagnosis

• one year survival

• bespoke campaign specific metrics

Analyses by age, gender and socioeconomic status allow us to understand where the campaigns may have had an impact and whether they are reaching the target audience.

The findings are presented as individual metric summaries and then as final evaluation reports.

You can download campaign evaluation metrics for previous campaigns in or before 2019

Two recent publications can be found here:

• Impact of the third national 'Be Clear on Cancer' Breast Cancer in Women over 70 Campaign on general practitioner attendance and referral, diagnosis rates and prevalence awareness.
• A prospective evaluation of the fourth national Be Clear on Cancer 'Blood in Pee' campaign in England.

Click on the links below to download supporting information and resources:

Campaign Resource Centre on the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) website