A NEW programme to help tackle high rates of cancer across Barnsley and the rest of South Yorkshire has been launched.

SYB Shows Up is calling on individuals, organisations and communities to work together to help realise the ambitions of a new cancer strategy for the region.

The aims are to encourage people to ‘show up’ for each other and to recognise cancer as a long-term condition, address the inequalities in diagnosis and treatment across our communities, and to develop plans and resources to promote effective prevention measures.

The scheme, launched by the South Yorkshire Cancer Alliance, has been backed by South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard.

He said: “Our region has one of the highest rates of cancer in England, with the lowest proportion of people diagnosed at an early stage.

“I’m simply not prepared to accept those statistics as inevitable or insurmountable.

“That’s why I’m now leading the development of a cancer strategy that will challenge us to think and act differently.”