Would you be able to recognise the first signs and symptoms of cancer? What do you do if you have concerns? How can you reduce the risk of cancer? These questions and more will be answered at a new roadshow designed to encourage people to talk about the disease.

The Hunts Community Cancer Network (HCCN) Team is going on the road and staging two drop-in events, one in Huntingdon and another in St Neots, with more in the pipeline.

Clinical nurse specialist and project lead Gini Melesi said: “We are trying to raise awareness about HCCN and, more importantly, about cancer diagnosing and that early diagnosis saves lives.

“We’re targeting the more common ones - bowel, breast, prostate, bladder, ovarian and oesophageal - but we will be able to answer questions about any.

“If people have concerns they can come along and we will answer their questions. We want them to pop in and we’ll try and put their minds at rest.”

One of the aims of the Hunts Community Cancer Network is to help people who are living with the disease to claim back control of their lives and actively manage their health.

Increasingly, living with a diagnosis of cancer is similar to that of coping with other long-term conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. Simple steps can be taken to help, such as exercise and healthy eating, both of which have been shown to increase chances of survival and reduce the risks of a cancer returning.

The first roadshow is being held at Tesco in Kings Ripton Road, Huntingdon from 1.30-3.30pm on Tuesday, February 24. Another will be held at Tesco in Barford Road, Eynesbury, St Neots, from 1-3.30pm on Thursday, March 19.

Entry is free and refreshments will be served.

The HCCN, set up last year, has been working closely with the St Neots Community Learning, based at Longsands Academy.

Next week, the Hunts Community Cancer Team will be going into Longsands to talk to teenagers about what they should be looking out for, as far as cancer is concerned.

Last year, a group of IT pupils from Longsands helped the HCCN set up a website, offering patients and carers more details about its work. Visit www.huntscommunitycancer network.org.

The next patient conference: Living With Cancer, is on April 16. It is free for patients and carers. To book, call Gini on 07715 037711.