Olubukola Ayodele, Breast Cancer Lead at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Today, I had the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at a ‘Faith and Cancer’ Webinar as part of the London Global Cancer Week. The title of the message was ‘When Healing is Unequal’. This was the first time we brought together chaplains and faith leaders from across the UK to talk openly about the role of faith in cancer care, and the response was incredible.
A huge thank you to Revd Canon, Mia Hilborn, Chaplaincy Team Leader at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, for helping make this happen. Her guidance and support created a space where people felt able to speak honestly about the realities they see in their communities.
What struck me most was how much shared purpose there is. Chaplains are already supporting people through some of the hardest moments of their lives. Bringing cancer into that conversation is recognising that faith, culture and illness are deeply connected for many people. Cancer diagnosis and its treatment can be a traumatic experience, for which faith and spirituality are vital coping resources that can significantly influence a patient’s adjustment and well-being.
For ethnic minority communities in particular, faith leaders often hold the trust that healthcare systems struggle to earn. That trust can be used to break the silence, challenge stigma, and encourage earlier help-seeking. And because many of our UK congregations have strong ties across Africa, the Caribbean and South Asia, these conversations have global relevance too.
Faith-based organisations play a major role in healthcare worldwide, especially in areas with limited access. What happens here in the UK often echoes globally.
During the session, chaplains shared stories of people wrestling with fear, shame, or misconceptions about cancer. They also shared examples of how spiritual care can sit alongside clinical care to support dignity, decision-making and emotional resilience. Some of the chaplains also shared their own cancer diagnosis, which shows that cancer doesn’t discriminate.
This webinar has shown there is a real appetite for continued work in this space. We are already looking at how to grow this partnership from training in cancer awareness to joint community events to building faith-informed approaches that speak to the realities of culture, migration, and inequality.
I’m grateful to every chaplain and faith leader who joined us. Your openness, compassion and commitment made this first session a success. And this is only the beginning.
If you’d like to be involved in future sessions or explore how we can support your community, please reach out.”
More posts featuring Olubukola Ayodele.
