Finalist
Lymphoma Association
Summary of work
Any cancer diagnosis is difficult. But how much more difficult is it when it can occur in any part of the body, comes in more than 60 different subtypes with varying presentations, diagnoses and complex treatment options?
Lymphoma is the UK’s fifth most common cancer, yet it is neither well-known nor easily understood. Around 125,000 people are living with lymphoma, yet thousands of those people will not fully understand their diagnosis.
The Lymphoma Association’s ‘What’s your type?’ campaign aimed to raise awareness of the complexity of lymphoma so that patients and their loved ones can better cope with the disease. It has empowered people to have more informed discussions with their medical team about their cancer’s prognosis and health policymakers are now aware of the need to improve professional understanding of lymphoma and for better data.
Launched during Lymphatic Cancer Awareness Week (LCAW) 2016 (Sept 12-18), the campaign has led to thousands more lymphoma patients understanding their type of cancer. Health professionals have ordered more than 8,000 What’s your type? cards, and of the 19,000 people who will receive a lymphoma diagnosis in the next year, the majority will now be informed of their subtype on diagnosis.
Judges’ comments
The Lymphoma Association oulined an interesting yet mature campaign that delivered easy messages to empower patients. The team’s engagement with health services was impressive and well thought through, and combined with an exciting use of social media. It’s a great association.
