The C word: cancer. Regardless of where you live, your gender or skin colour, cancer doesn’t discriminate. Yet, the ways in which various communities respond to diagnoses, treatment and discussions about cancer vary significantly, and it’s important to recognise this on World Cancer Day (February 4).
In 2022, 1 in 50 people had cancer in Australia, while forecasted data published in 2025 suggested “close to one million of Australia’s population will have been diagnosed with cancer in the last 10 years”. South Asians represent the fastest growing migrant community in Australia, and government health agencies, research experts and support organisations say sensitive and culturally appropriate systems must be in place to support the diaspora.
Cancer impacts everyone in different ways, and for many it’s extremely isolating, not just because of the serious nature of their diagnoses, but also because of other factors such as a lack of support or information – which can be particularly difficult to obtain in culturally and linguistically diverse communities due to language and other access barriers.
For over 10 years, grassroots organisation Pink Sari Inc has strived to help close the gaps, particularly when it comes to improving breast cancer screening rates. When it launched in 2014, it was supposed to increase screening rates by 5% within the first two years, but managed to achieve a 17% boost, as previously reported on Refinery29. In 2024, launched CanInfo and Care, a pilot project aiming to better support South Asian cancer patients and their carers across all cancer.
Run by a group of female volunteers within the South Asian community, Pink Sari has hosted community lunches, worn pink to cricket matches and multicultural parades, and provided culturally tailored information to brown communities in NSW.
This year, Pink Sari’s 2026 World Cancer Day event has officially sold out. Organised by Pink Sari and SGL Charitable (a Sikh community organisation) in partnership with Blacktown City Council, the event on Saturday, February 7 will feature a flash mob dance followed by speeches from cancer survivors and community/health sector leaders. Attendees, who signed up via a public link before it sold out, have not only been invited to wear pink or blue, but also to join in on the flash mob by learning the dance steps online.
Sheetal Challam, Principal Strategic Advisor – Multicultural Program at the Cancer Institute NSW, has previously highlighted the importance of working with community organisations such as Pink Sari to help break cultural stigmas, promote early detection and provide culturally sensitive and accurate information to cancer patients and their families.
“We cannot bring about real change by working in isolation,” Challam said last year, as per Cancer Institute NSW.
“By working together with key community leaders, cancer consumer advocates and ethno-specific groups, we can help more people access cancer information, care and support in a sensitive and culturally appropriate way.”
In a LinkedIn post shared ahead of 2026 World Cancer Day, Challam said she and her team have been working with seven multicultural organisations to reach communities from Pakistani, Sierra Leonean, Pacific Island, Indian sub-continent, Afghan, and Arabic-speaking backgrounds.
The 2026 World Cancer Day theme is ‘United by Unique, because “every experience with cancer is unique and it will take all of us, united, to create a world where we look beyond the disease and see the person before the patient”.
Along with initiatives within the health and community sectors, younger community members, including second generation South Asian Australians, have the opportunity – to not only engage with these organisations, but to engage with those nearest and dearest to them. Having open discussions that challenge stereotypes, educate older generations or recent migrants, and give them the confidence to seek medical support, can all play a crucial part in making a difference.
Top Image Source: Draw Your Box
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