Jo's are a proud member of the One Cancer Voice group of over 50 cancer charities. We share a collective aim and bring experience across the awareness, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and recovery from all cancer types and patient groups, including adults, children and young people. 

Today, we have sent a letter to Dr Thérèse Coffey MP, the new Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asking her to set out a clear date for the publication of the much anticipated 10-Year Cancer Plan in England.

The UK Government will soon be publishing a ‘Health Disparities White Paper’ setting out policies and plans to reduce inequalities in health outcomes, and to support more people to live longer and healthier lives.¹

Ahead of the publication of this new paper, Jo’s has joined with 47 other charities and organisations, to call on the government to be bold in its ambition and provide much-needed investment to tackle health inequalities. 

The Department of Health and Social Care recently held a consultation period, seeking the views of individuals and organisations to help inform the development of the government’s Women’s Health Strategy. We were really pleased to submit a 10-page response, sharing our expertise and the experiences of our community.  

It’s a tricky time to be a charity. We’re facing an anticipated income loss of over 60% and have had to furlough over half of our amazing colleagues to make sure we can continue to deliver our key frontline services. It’s a tricky time but we’re as committed as ever! Below some of our staff share what it’s like to be working at Jo’s at the moment:

Today the NHS in Scotland has announced that it will be introducing HPV testing as the primary method for cervical screening from 2019, but what does this actually mean and how will it save lives?

Last Friday the results of the annual National Cancer Patient Experience Survey were released. We are delighted to see that the vast majority of feedback from cancer patients is very positive and when asked to rate their care on a scale of 1 to 10 the average was 8.7 which is high.

Wednesday’s (19th July) announcement from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) was disappointing. We heard that not only has a final decision on extending the HPV vaccination to boys not been made, but that the committee is unable to recommend an extension based on cost-effectiveness.

As a charity we are focused on the day that no woman dies from cervical cancer. We know that day can come and we want to get there as soon as we can, so that no woman has to face a life threatening cervical diagnosis, no woman has to endure invasive treatment, no woman has to suffer from the long term physical and psychological effects of treatment. 

While we work towards this day, we know that many woman are not receiving the support, information and care that they need. This is not acceptable.

Claire Cohen, our Head of Information and Education, talks about why our new report 'Cervical cancer stories' is so important.