A daughter wants to raise awareness in honour of her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer nearly four years ago.
Farida Patel, Naz Vander's mother, was devastated when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2018. Patel was able to get an operation in November 2018 since she was diagnosed early enough.
Vander said:
It was quite a traumatic time. She was self-employed at Mums Mate (a baby shop in Halliwell), and the glue that holds everything together. She looked after all eight grandchildren and helped with the school runs. Last year I took her for her annual scan and biopsy, and she made a curry for the fundraiser the next day. She is so well known in the community, and she has helped so many people along the way. We just want to give back on her behalf and we try and do it annually.
Vander, in particular, wishes to gather funds in order to create awareness within the BAME population in Halliwell, Bolton.
She described how there is still a lot of stigma in the community, with some women believing they can't speak to a male doctor or that it's a 'intimate' matter.
Vander added:
We wouldn’t have found the breast cancer if my mum didn’t have her mammogram because it’s so small. There are so many people that don’t go for routine scans in the ethnic community.
Vander collaborated with the organisation Breast Cancer Now to create a breast cancer leaflet in a variety of languages, including Persian, Arabic, Hindi, Gujrati, Urdu, Polish, and others.
Through a Just Giving page and a coffee morning in October 2021, Naz raised more than £2,000 for Breast Cancer Now's 'Wear it Pink' event.
She didn't stop there; in September 2021, she earned £727.70 for Macmillan Cancer Support during a coffee morning and fundraising day.
Vander added:
It’s your health at the end of the day and it’s so important to just go for your appointment.
Read the Muslim Women's Council's Think Tank report about Muslim Women’s Understanding of Cancer
