Navtej Kaur turned her life around after cancer, leaving a stressful senior role in the Metropolitan Police to become an NHS volunteer chaplain specialising in end of life care.

But there is another area of her life which she feels an overwhelming need to address – opening up the conversation about cancer in the Asian community and dispelling the myth that cancer is some kind of punishment.

Navtej, who last year completed lengthy treatment for breast cancer, said: “I belong to a culturally challenging society where cancer is rarely talked about and a certain amount of judgement and stigma is attached to it.

“The Asian community finds it difficult to openly talk about cancer. Culturally, it shies away from addressing taboo subjects.

“Cancer is considered a near-death sentence without any informed thinking,” she said. “This utter despair affects people’s mental health when what’s needed is a positive mindset to work alongside medicines.”

Now well on the road to recovery, Navtej, from Hounslow, is backing a Cancer Research UK campaign to help save more lives, as the charity fights back from the impact of the pandemic.

She is highlighting a powerful new short film from the charity, which underlines how everyone has a part to play in the fight against the disease.

It features the rallying call to arms: ‘One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime*. All of us can support the research that will beat it.’

Navtej hopes her story will inspire people from all communities – especially her own – to make a difference and become a part of the solution to this devastating disease.

She said: “As a result of the pandemic, cancer is as urgent an issue now as it’s ever been. With so many people affected, we’re all in this together. Every action – big or small – helps Cancer Research UK ensure more people like me survive.”

Navtej was a senior manager in the Met at a time of structural changes and intense pressure, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012.

She said: “Deadlines were relentless and I shouldered a lot of responsibility for large teams and budgets. My boys were 12 and 13 at the time so I had very little down time.”

She underwent chemotherapy followed by a lumpectomy, then a month of radiotherapy and a combination of drugs.

Her treatment included Avastin, Zoladex and Tamoxifen, drugs in which Cancer Research UK played significant roles during clinical trials.

Navtej’s chaplaincy work came later and was a total change of direction for her.

“It is more to do with pastoral and spiritual care than religion and is so nourishing.

“Through it, I have come across all sorts of people who are quite unexpectedly at peace with how they have lived their life and there is so much to learn from them. Humbling is a word that is over-used, but that’s how it is.”

Navtej is acutely aware of the distress that women and men within Asian cultures endure, feeling unable to talk about their diagnosis for fear of being negatively judged and labelled.

The mother of two, who also retrained to work in the charity sector, wants to challenge ‘antiquated beliefs’ and address the limited knowledge around cancer awareness and prevention, as well as talking about how those communities can support cancer patients.

“For me, cancer was a journey that was the ‘undoing’ of me but also one that built me into a far more resilient, empathetic and spiritual person.

“Initially I couldn’t openly talk about my diagnosis – there was no-one to turn to. With hindsight, that stemmed from my limited knowledge of the disease, coupled with my own shock and fear and knowing it would cause distress to others.

“The learning and growth has been immense so I am humbled and grateful for the deeper connection I now have to humanity and my faith.

“As a Punjabi Sikh, I’m part of a group which is renowned for its selfless service to others. At its core is the principle to actively help and serve both with our money and time.

“If people really understood the Sikh scriptures, a cancer diagnosis would be treated with absolute compassion and generosity of care. Cancer isn’t a judgement call. I want to voice this up strongly and loudly and start the positive dialogues around cancer.

“The support networks already exist within our community. Extended families are an ideal resource to support and are already there to help us open up. Now, the need to return the healing and knowledge I received is almost overwhelming.”

Navtej wants to pay tribute to the people who supported her through her cancer journey.

“As well as my family and friends, many surprising ‘angels’ came forward with kindness, like colleagues who opened up and supported me through the gruelling treatment.

“My care team of oncologists and nurses were a fountain of knowledge and reassurance. And my data was scrutinised and adjusted as I travelled through the six month chemo plan.

“And behind some of those people – unseen – there was an army of fundraisers, volunteers and donors who help fund the life-saving research.”

In London, around 34,100 people are diagnosed with cancer every year**.

Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, Cancer Research UK’s work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has been at the heart of the progress that has seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years.

Lynn Daly, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the London, said: “We’re grateful to Navtej for her support. COVID-19 has hit us hard, but we are more focussed than ever on our ambition of seeing 3 in 4 people survive their cancer by 2034.

“This past year proves, more than any other, the value of research and what can be achieved together. Just like science is our route out of the pandemic, science is our route to beating cancer.

“That’s why we want to harness the ‘people power’ of our incredible supporters, because the progress we make relies on every hour of research, every pound donated and everyone who gets involved.

“So, whether they give £2 a month, sign up to Race for Life, volunteer at our shops or pledge to leave a gift in their will – with help, we believe that together we will beat cancer.”

Cancer Research UK was able to spend over £153 million in London alone last year on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.

Play a part in supporting life-saving research at cruk.org.