Breaking down barriers to breast screening in South Asian communities

As we mark South Asian Heritage Month, we want to shine a light on a pioneering project involving Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust nurses to help South Asian women feel more confident talking about breast health and accessing potentially life-saving breast screening.

Funded through a grant from the Burdett Trust for Nursing, the ‘Comedy, Samosas & Nursing' project has brought together local women, healthcare professionals, researchers and community leaders to tackle barriers that can prevent women from attending breast screening appointments. The project has also been recognised nationally as a finalist in the Nursing Times Awards 2026.

It was developed in response to evidence that some South Asian women can face cultural stigma, language barriers and discomfort discussing breast health, contributing to lower screening uptake and poorer outcomes.

Working in partnership with King’s College London, nurses from the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust helped co-design and deliver workshops that used humour as a way of creating safe, supportive and culturally sensitive conversations around breast cancer awareness and screening. Women from South Asian communities played a central role in shaping the project, ensuring it reflected their experiences, concerns and perspectives.

The Trust team included Dr Mary Tanay, Nurse Consultant at the Berkshire Cancer Centre, Sarah Lupai, Patient Experience Lead, and Sarosh Khymani, Clinical Trials Nurse. They worked alongside community champions and voluntary sector partners including ‘Sakoon Through Cancer’ throughout the project.

Women involved described the workshops as safe, open and non-judgemental, with the use of humour helping to make talking about breast health feel less intimidating, allowing them to share experiences and concerns that they’d felt embarrassing to share before.

Dr Mary Tanay said, “This project would not have been possible without the generosity, honesty and enthusiasm of the women and community partners who worked alongside us. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who shared their experiences and helped shape an approach that genuinely reflects the needs of South Asian communities. We hope this work will help more women feel comfortable talking about breast health, increase confidence in accessing screening services and contribute to earlier diagnosis and better outcomes, locally and further afield.”