Blog

Rosie Mughal: An inspiring day at London Global Cancer Week’s Cancer Health Disparities Day

Rosie Mughal/LinkedIn

Nov 27, 2024, 14:32

Rosie Mughal: An inspiring day at London Global Cancer Week’s Cancer Health Disparities Day

“On Friday, I spent an inspiring day at London Global Cancer Week’s Cancer Health Disparities Day in Parliament. AstraZeneca UK was delighted to sponsor this event in its inaugural year.

One of the stated objectives of the day was to understand the very complex problem of cancer health inequalities. The organising team, led by Dr. Olubukola Ayodele, did a fantastic job of bringing this to life through an ambitious and thought provoking agenda.

We had the opportunity to explore health equity from a range of different angles, to break down this complex issue into actionable areas.

We heard from speakers around the world – in person and dialling in – from Malaysia, Pakistan, through to Nigeria, Canada and more, touching on issues as varied as cancer prevention, the role of pharmacy, access to clinical trials and, of course, the potential of AI. But we also heard from speakers closer to home, working to tackle inequalities here in the UK. As someone rightly said during the event, we need to start with our own back garden before we can preach to others.

I wrote a lot of notes during the day, but one phrase that was mentioned stood out to me: radical inclusivity. Earlier in the week, I’d been at Cancer52’s Big Conversation, where they launched their most recent report looking into inequalities in rare and less common cancers. This concept of radical inclusivity came up there as well, and the need to break the mould of a ‘one size fits all’ model of care.

It comes in a busy week for the oncology team at AstraZeneca UK, as we launched our Cancer: Project Zero essays in the same week. These essays pose the question: what if we could eliminate cancer as a cause of death?

I am proud to work for a company that has such a bold ambition but recognises that we cannot do this alone. Which is why we invited a range of stakeholders to contribute their expertise. You can take a read of the essays.”

Rosie Mughal: An inspiring day at London Global Cancer Week’s Cancer Health Disparities Day