Rebecca Spencer

People with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are at an increased risk of developing a range of different types of cancer, including breast and colorectal cancer, compared to people without diabetes. If people with diabetes do develop cancer, they are more likely to experience adverse events (such as hospitalisations, infections, chemotherapy reductions or stoppages, and cancer recurrences), and they are more likely to die from their cancer.

In the UK, the NHS offers routine cervical, breast and bowel cancer screening programmes. Routine cancer screening, that is offered to asymptomatic individuals, can improve cancer-related outcomes, by preventing the development of cancer, or by detecting cancer at an earlier stage, when it is typically easier to treat.

Despite being at an increased risk of both developing and dying from cancer, women with diabetes have been found to be less likely to participate in routine cervical, breast and colorectal cancer screening, compared to women without diabetes. Studies have demonstrated lower cancer screening participation rates among individuals with diabetes, even after controlling for a range of other factors known to influence cancer screening participation rates, such as socioeconomic status (SES) and body mass index (BMI). Therefore, previous research has suggested that diabetes-related barriers to cancer screening must exist. However, to date, there has been a lack of research trying to understand what these diabetes-related barriers to cancer screening might be, or how they could be addressed.

Rebecca's PhD aims to begin to address this gap in the literature, by identifying, understanding and starting to address diabetes-related barriers to cancer screening participation, that are experienced by women with T2DM.