Over the past few weeks we have been out and about attending Pride events across the UK to celebrate joy and resilience among our communities!

We kicked the season off with Bristol Pride, before heading up to Northern Pride in Newcastle. Blessed with gloriously sunny days, our stalls proved to be very popular thanks to the rainbow hand fans we were handing out to help people keep cool. It was great to introduce so many new people to our work at OUTpatients and highlight that we are here to support everyone within our community, wherever they are based. 

We also hosted a stall at Trans Pride Brighton for the first time this year. With a spot among the community stalls in New Steine Gardens, we shared vital information about accessing cancer screening with hundreds of trans, nonbinary and gender diverse members of our community. A highlight of the day was being visited by one of the models from our Best For My Chest campaign! Both protesting the way our trans siblings are being #SingledOut and celebrating trans joy, Trans Pride Brighton was a heartwarming experience.

We proudly returned to UK Black Pride for a second year. The event felt especially powerful this year as we stood with our LGBTIQ+ communities of colour amidst the ongoing racist violence across the UK. As a proudly anti-racist organisation, we value and celebrate racial and ethnic diversity not just in our staff and services, but also in our society at large. We were also lucky to be joined by Rich Aesop, a queer massage therapist who specialises in oncology massage and volunteered his time to give attendees free back and shoulder massages. If you would like to volunteer with OUTpatients, either personally or in a professional capacity, please get in touch with our London Volunteering Lead, Jawadat (she/her), here.

Across all of these events it was fantastic to share our work with new communities and make amazing connections around the country. We left feeling the palpable power of solidarity, reinvigorating us to continue pushing for change to improve cancer care experiences for all LGBTIQ+ people. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us or stopped by to say hello! None of this would be possible without your continued support. We are also grateful to the organisers of Bristol Pride, Northern Pride, UK Black Pride and Trans Pride Brighton, for giving us the opportunity to empower more LGBTIQ+ people to access the healthcare they deserve.

Happy Pride To All!

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If you want to discuss a partnership opportunity, or have a campaign that you would like OUTpatients to be part of, head over to our Contact page. Let’s join hands to make a difference and create a healthcare system that is inclusive and safe for all.