Burnley pastor's catchphrase is in step with bid to raise awareness of how vital early detection of cancer can be

A catchy and memorable phrase, coined by a Burnley pastor and his fiancee to help raise awareness of cancer, has become an internet hit.
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Dancer for Cancer is the phrase that Pastor Mick Fleming came up with as he discussed cancer, and how vital early detection is, with his partner, Sarah Oxborough.

The couple have been engaged for three years and Sarah herself was recently diagnosed with the disease and is awaiting treatment.

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As the couple discussed the effects cancer has on people's lives and families and ways in which awareness can be raised they started to come up with different names for it.

Pastor Mick Fleming and his fiancee Sarah Oxborough are on a mission to raise awareness of a devastating disease.Pastor Mick Fleming and his fiancee Sarah Oxborough are on a mission to raise awareness of a devastating disease.
Pastor Mick Fleming and his fiancee Sarah Oxborough are on a mission to raise awareness of a devastating disease.

Mick said: "We played around with it a bit and came up with the idea of cancer as a tap dancer which then led to Dancer for Cancer."

They then hit on the idea of idea of asking people to ' Be A Dancer for Cancer' by posting videos of themselves dancing on social media. Sarah kicked off the initiative with her video and many people have performed theirs in the popular Tik Tok style.

Rather than raise money for one particular charity, those posting videos can add a donate button for one of the many cancer charities that exist.

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Several followers of Mick's Church on the Street Ministry got on board and now dozens more across the UK, and even in America, have followed suit to become Dancers for Cancer.

Anyone can take part and choose any dance or music they want and all they need to do is add #dancerforcancer to their video.

Mick said: "We never expected it to take off like it has. We wanted people to have a laugh and a bit of fun but also one of the great things to come out of this is that a number of people fighting cancer have got in touch with me to talk about what they are going through.

"One lady, who is terminally ill, really wants to get the message across how important early diagnosis of this disease is.

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"She felt there was something wrong but delayed going to her doctor until it was too late so we want to get the message across for people not to be afraid to go for help if they don't feel well or right."

Along with his Church on the Street Ministry, known as COTS, Mick runs the social media page Burnley Against Poverty which helps to feed, clothe and support the homeless and vulnerable in the town.

And the project has come into its own since the pandemic struck as Mick, working with a host of volunteers in partnership with the Rev Alex Frost at St Matthew's Church, has been delivering food parcels to hundreds of people across the borough.

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