 |
Testimonials from our staff & volunteers and the Services we offer
This is where you can find our forthcoming events and our past event pictures
Advice we found useful and some handy links
Our Current and past Newsletters
Please sign our Guestbook!
Our board menbers and contact details
Visit our Forum for advice and chat
|
 |
|
 |
By Irene |
Hi everyone, |
My husband and I became users of the community cancer centre last summer. The reason we needed the help was desperation! My husband had been diagnosed 18 months previously and he had had successful treatment and was now in remission, for how long we didn’t know, but 8 months after finishing his treatment he felt worse than at any time during diagnosis and chemo. |
The hospitals are great, they offer support and help during diagnosis and treatment (if your lucky enough to have a good team) but after you finish treatment you seem to fall into a black hole, there is nothing or no one there to offer information or support or answer your millions of questions and worries. |
The medical staff say call them but you feel silly or a nuisance after all, you have finished your treatment you should be well and enjoying getting on with the rest of your life! This is after all what all that chemo trauma was for!! |
However this seems far from easy or at times you think even possible.
This puts more emotional pressure on yourself and your family, and who helps, who talks to you and provides any of the answers? Its better to be able to talk to an outsider, the last thing you want to do is cause more upset to friends and family, they are your support network through out this journey and it’s hard on them too. |
We personally found this the most difficult stage of the cancer journey.
We had tried the well advertised routes only to discover that a lot of the local support networks couldn’t help us as we were being treated at a hospital out of our area, because of the specialist type of cancer. Something we have discovered happens a lot all over London. |
After lots of searching on the internet and through hospital information we finally discovered The Community Cancer Centre and Bren. And some of the questions had answers and life started to be lived again. |
I have been mulling over what my husband said to me the other day after attending a living with cancer course that Bren had organised for him.
One of the other members had said, “what’s wrong with me, I feel worse now than I ever did during the treatment” and others joined in the discussion and a light went on, they all had different symptoms and side effects, but all had felt dreadful after finishing treatment, but no one had been able to find or speak to others for this information. Just to be able to say it and have others understand and confirm that this had happened to them too, made it better, no magic wand, just communication, people talking. |
The Community Cancer Centre is what is needed along with the buddy system and the drop in centre, a resource where people don’t fall into the black hole, where all the other information, be it written brochures, organised help or people sharing their knowledge is there to be found. |
Some one to talk to. |
Because that is what is important, without the emotional and psychological help to remain strong and focused that is as much about staying healthy as all the other components that the medical teams offer. We were made to realise this recently when after 2 years in remission we went for a routine check up only to realise that from the time you receive that first bad news you do live with cancer waiting for the next bad news. And again no information on how people cope or information of what happens the 2nd or even 3rd time around, what does it mean? Is it more chemo? Is it terminal? |
The only place you are left to turn to is the internet. |
Now there are some very good sites, but is that how people should find out this information sitting in front of a screen at home isolated or is it another type of black hole where the information needs addressing correctly? This shows the huge on going need for the Community Cancer Centre and other like organisations. |
There should be Community Cancer Centres everywhere; it should be part of the treatment along side the hospitals. And it should be properly funded so that people know how and where to go for help. We would like to thank the staff at the Community Cancer Centre for their help and support and hope we can offer some of the help they have given us, to others. |
 |
|
 |
|
By Dinika Ale (Volunteer at CCC) |
Everybody goes through a time when all you need is someone who you can talk to and who will just listen to you in return. |
Through my own personal experience, I have found that keeping your worries suppressed will only increase them. Talking to someone about your problems and being assured that whatever that has been said will be kept confidential can give you great relief from the burden you have held inside you. |
Being able to help out people and giving them moral support through their tough times gives me great happiness in knowing that I have made a small difference in someone’s life. |
Although I do not know anyone with cancer personally, I feel that to some extent, having been through other medical problems myself, I will be able to relate to them. |
I believe that I am a good listener and will give people moral as well as emotional support if needed. |
I thought volunteering at the Community Cancer Centre would be a good start for me as it would also broaden my knowledge about cancer and teach me how deal with different people. |
|
|
|
 |
|
| Convenient Monday to Friday opening times: |
| No appointment is necessary unless you require one of our complementary therapies or counseling. |
|
| An Information library & Internet access: |
| Understanding what is happening to your body is an important part of dealing with the diagnosis/prognosis. The CCC has a library of books, leaflets and videos that is constantly expanded to cover as many clinical areas as practically possible and also has specific information for children and minority groups. |
|
| Specialist services for patients, carers, their families and anyone who is affected by cancer. |
|
| Complementary therapies include Reiki Healing, Massage, Indian Head Massage, Reflexology, Relaxation and Meditation Classes. |
| The benefit of these therapies to cancer patients, their families and carers are well understood and is part of palliative care |
|
| Workshops: |
| Macmillan programme; "Living With Cancer", complementary therapy days, Chill Out Days and we are continuously adding new workshops - why not suggest one? |
|
| Counselling: |
| On site at our centre or visiting clients in their own homes if they are unable to come to the centre |
|
| befriending service for cancer patients and carers: |
| This service is provided 7 days a week and we provide… |
| • trained volunteers to help patients and carers better manage their situation |
| • identification of the needs of the patients & carers with possible solutions |
| • outreaching to the disabled and housebound through home visits |
| • organised breaks for informal carers (through partnership) |
|
| Support groups: |
| We currently have 2 support groups running. We have a Monday coffee morning for ladies that have been affected by cancer, in particular breast cancer. This is every Monday morning 10:30am-12pm. It consists of ladies chatting about their experiences and chatting about general topics. Once a month we have a guest speaker come along. |
We also have a M.O.T support group for men that have been affected by cancer, in particular prostate cancer. This group meets on a Wednesday afternoon once a month. It consists of men talking about their experiences and general chit chat. |
Both support groups are open to anybody that had been affected by cancer, so this includes patients, carers, relatives and the bereaved. |
If you would like to know specific dates for the support groups or any further information, please contact the centre. |
|
 |
|
|
|
