Highlighting Connection with Multicultural communities
Today, 4 February 2025, is World Cancer Day. This year’s World Cancer Day is themed “United by Unique”. This theme emphasises the importance of connecting with the person, without focusing on the disease.
The official website for World Cancer Day explains: “People living with cancer don’t always feel heard, seen, or understood. They might feel alienated and voiceless at a time when they’re also learning to navigate an unfamiliar and confusing health system, not to mention dealing with the emotional highs and lows of cancer diagnosis, treatment, or recovery.”
In this edition of BSV Inclusive!, we want to focus on our efforts to connect with people from multicultural backgrounds.
Breast screening for multicultural communities
For some people, breast screening is a natural part of getting older. They see their parents, aunts and friends ageing into our program. When their first invitation to have a breast screen arrives in the mail, they answer it. It is just another thing you do to stay healthy.
However, what happens if you're not aware of the breast screening program because you didn’t grow up here? What if you don’t speak the language, or if faith or cultural barriers prevent you from having a breast screen? That is the reality for many people from multicultural backgrounds.
Victoria is home to one of the most culturally diverse societies in the world. In 2021, 30% of Victorians were born overseas and 27% of Victorians speak a language other than English at home, according to the Victorian Government's website. It is incredibly important for us to engage with these communities and ensure they participate in our program.
How we support multicultural communities
To ensure that a wide range of cultures understand our messaging, we have translated our resources to 24 languages and counting. Clients are encouraged to call the Translation and Interpreting Service by the Department of Home Affairs when engaging with our program and Google Translate is integrated in our website for quick and easy translation of information.
Connecting with communities
On top of these practical solutions, we try to connect with multicultural communities to ensure that our resources contain relevant information and that they are available in a range of languages. Recently, we worked with Bendigo Community Health Services (BCHS) to translate a suite of resources for their growing Karen-speaking community. BCHS acted as a conduit between us as a service provider and the Karen-speaking community in Bendigo. Together with the community, we created an information pack that will help remove barriers and persuade eligible women to have a breast screen.
Diversity in faces and voices
Another way we try to connect with people with multicultural backgrounds is by listening and sharing the full diversity of the faces and voices of our clients.
May and Chantal are both women with multicultural backgrounds and they are part of our Consumer Network.
May was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022: “I’m one of the lucky ones, they found it quite early”, she says when asked about her experience. “It has been a tough journey, but I'm grateful that I'm still alive today. During my treatment I've come across a lot of ladies that have had much worse experiences, because they didn’t have a breast screen. By the time they found out they had cancer it was too late. I’m happy to be here and share my experience with everyone, hopefully I can inspire other women to have a breast screen.”
Chantal has been screening with us for years. “I don't have breast cancer, and I hope to never get it”, she shares when asked about her experience with breast cancer, “I actually had a lump when I was about 22 so I had my first mammogram then. Once I turned the age where I needed to have a regular breast screen, I have never missed an appointment. The BreastScreen program is great. I get a little apprehensive before I go in, but once I’m there, I know the people doing the mammograms are very gentle and I feel reassured that I will be okay.” When asked what she would say to women that are still apprehensive about having a breast screen Chantal says: “Just don’t wait, do it! It will be alright and 10 minutes is nothing compared to a lifetime of not knowing.”
An ongoing journey
We know that learning about different cultures, collaborating with cultural community groups and spotlighting people from a wide range of backgrounds support diversity and inclusion of multicultural communities. This World Cancer Day we acknowledge that everyone’s experience is unique and that we will continue to look for ways to connect, so we can persuade people from all backgrounds to screen through our program.
As a part of our Consumer Network, you can help us make sure the consumer's voice guides everything we do. Join our Consumer Network.