It's Deaf Awareness Week, so today we're taking a look at how being deaf can affect your cancer experience, what Macmillan are doing to help, and some helpful tips on communicating with someone deaf.
And if you're wondering why we've used "D/deaf" in our blog's title, it's not a typo! It's because we want to reach out to everyone affected by hearing loss, whether they identify with Deaf culture and are part of the Deaf community (Deaf) or not (deaf).
About deafness and hearing loss
There are over 11 million people in the UK with some form of hearing loss, with over 900,000 being severely or profoundly deaf.
The most common cause of hearing loss is age. Another common cause is damage to the ear caused by loud noises, for example if you work in a noisy environment or regularly use your headphones at a loud volume.
Causes of deafness from birth or a young age include hereditary disorders, genetic disorders and illnesses like measles, mumps or meningitis.
24,000 people across the UK use sign language as their main language, although this is likely to be an underestimate.
Sign languages are as diverse as spoken languages. In the UK, British Sign Language (BSL) is the most widely used method of signed communication. BSL is structured in a completely different way to English and, like any language, has its own grammar.
Communication tips for hearing people
Action for Hearing Loss have some great tips on their website to help you communicate clearly with someone who is deaf. Here are just a few simple things you can do:
Dealing with cancer when you are deaf
I'm sure many readers have experienced a few barriers and frustrations when navigating the healthcare system. Coping with cancer is tough enough, without added difficulties like being given information you can't understand, feeling you're not being listened to or not having your personal needs met. For many deaf patients, these problems are compounded by the struggle to even communicate with their doctor.
But there are things that healthcare professionals and patients can do. For example, interpreters should be booked for medical appointments, whether at the GP or the hospital. You have a legal right to an interpreter, and if you ask your doctor they should be able to book one.
Health professionals should also offer people information in a format that's right for them. This might not always be print information. Indeed, some deaf patients may prefer easy read, video or British Sign Language. Macmillan produces cancer information in all of these formats at www.macmillan.org.uk/otherformats If you are a patient, make sure you ask for information in the format that you need.
How Macmillan can help
At Macmillan, we want to help everyone dealing with a cancer diagnosis. We know it is often a difficult and frightening time, so we aim to provide accessible information and support for everyone.
We have a range of British Sign Language videos about cancer on our website at www.macmillan.org.uk/BSL
There are also videos with captions and easy read booklets.
Macmillan is here for everyone affected by cancer. Our cancer support specialists can answer medical questions, give information about financial support, or talk to you about your feelings. You can call us on 0808 808 00 00, Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm. For textphone users, call us using Next Generation Text by dialling 18001 0808 808 00 00. Or you can download the NGT Lite app to your computer, tablet or smartphone. You can also email us or pop into your nearest Macmillan information centre for a chat.
Helpful videos
We have produced this video with Action on Hearing Loss to give tips to health professionals on supporting a deaf patient:
In another video, Gwen, who is deaf, explains her experience and the difficulties she faced when she was diagnosed with breast cancer:
Other useful organisations
For more information, these organisations could help:
To see what else Macmillan's cancer information team has been blogging about, please visit our blog home page! You can subscribe to receive our blogs by email or RSS too.
We're with you every step of the way
The Macmillan team is here to help. Our cancer support specialists can answer your questions, offer support, or simply listen if you need a chat. Call us free on 0808 808 00 00.
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Keep in touch Follow Macmillan’s cancer information team on Twitter @mac_cancerinfo
