<p>This research aimed to establish the efficacy of introducing bilingual health advocates to Bengali cancer patients who could not speak English. Two health advocates from the Bengali community received cancer-specific training and were allocated a group of cancer patients from the Bengali community in east London. Three methods were used to gauge the impact of the advocacy service: General Health Questionnaire-12; the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30); and a patient satisfaction questionnaire. Qualitative interviews were also conducted to gather patient and carers views. As a result of this study it is recommended that all hospital-based staff receive training on role and responsibilities of bilingual health advocates.</p>