Mecca Bingo raises cancer awareness in the north-west

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In the region’s evening news bulletin, a campaign by NHS Greater Manchester to encourage people to look out for four indicators of cancer – bleeding, weight loss, lumps and pain – found its way to one of the north-west’s bingo halls.

‘Cancer champions’ Peter Wraxall, who lost his sister to cancer, and Peter Allonby, whose best friend died of leukaemia, visited a Mecca Bingo hall in Bolton to speak to players there about the need for vigilance when any new symptoms of cancer develop.

The ‘Know 4 Sure’ campaign is a pilot scheme that has been running in Greater Manchester since the start of the year, and Bury Primary Care Trust gave more information about the symptoms to look out for at the end of January 2013.

Potential cancer sufferers are told to seek medical attention to double-check the cause of:

• unexplained bleeding with no clear injury cause
• unexplained lumps
• unexplained and significant weight loss
• unexplained pain that does not ease

The campaign is a great example of the social aspect of bricks-and-mortar bingo halls, which are not only a great meeting place for friends, but have also proved to be a useful location in which to raise awareness of health issues.

According to the BBC’s North West Tonight programme, more ‘cancer champions’ are now being sought to spread the message further on a nationwide basis.

Bolton alone has two Mecca Bingo clubs – one on Moor Lane and one on Breightmet Fold Lane – while there are a further four in Rochdale, Oldham, Gorton and Sale.

Elsewhere in the north-west, there are two Mecca Bingo halls in coastal locations in Blackpool and Southport, with several more in St Helens, Knotty Ash in Liverpool, Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port.

With almost 100 bricks-and-mortar Mecca Bingo halls listed on its website, not to mention a thriving online community, it’s easy to see why Mecca’s player network has been targeted in the pilot scheme.

And as the Know 4 Sure campaign is rolled out nationwide, it seems likely that Mecca Bingo at least – and potentially other bingo venues as well – will continue to play an important role in raising awareness of the common symptoms of many forms of cancer, and of the importance of early diagnosis.