Archive for the cancer survival Category

We Must Open Our Minds And Embrace Change!

On October 22, 2017   /   cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   Leave a comment
We Must Open Our Minds And Embrace Change!

As we now begin to find different solutions to the ever increasing need for cancer support, we are understanding that our previous ‘one size fits all’ approach is just not good enough anymore. Large organisations are now struggling to keep up with the variations of demand that is occurring. Of course, every person affected by cancer is totally unique and what their requirements are, won’t be the same as someone else’s. To make things more tricky, we all have different needs at different times, so we must be looking at everyone holistically, which of course makes perfect sense, and has finally started to happen. One of those areas of support that has become very popular is coaching. I have personally met many cancer/life coaches within my work and socially, and

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The Excitement Of New Experiences!

On October 8, 2017   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment, social media and cancer support   /   2 Comments
The Excitement Of New Experiences!

Let’s be honest for many of us life can be a bit of a drudge. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. Doing our best to make space for family, friends and a social life. Having said that there is no one more grateful for anything that life throws my way than me! ‘Every day is a bonus,’ is my personal mantra, and I absolutely make the most of the time, even negative experiences. I smile in the face of adversity, and on many occasions have talked to lovely people whilst solving my problems. I was lucky that I led a life that I loved before cancer, which gave me incredible life experiences. But since cancer I have had many more, very different ones, that I could never even begin to imagine. Writing,

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Sex, And Our Children

On September 24, 2017   /   cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment, social media and cancer support   /   Leave a comment
Sex, And Our Children

As many of you know it is gynaecological cancer awareness month, and I have been doing a lot of work with the wonderful Eve Appeal. I was invited to attend a very interesting debate about the taboos of talking about women’s body parts in the correct terms and how this simple issue leads to so many problems. Poor communication being the main one, leading to possible complex health issues later on in life. Personally I have always believed that we have never dealt with sex education correctly since I was a child. Now our world has become more complex, with mobile technology and a rapid shift for younger people. It seems to me that the only logical way to deal with this is at school? But these days it seems

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Let’s Smash The Taboos!

On September 3, 2017   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   10 Comments
Let's Smash The Taboos!

We often hear about ‘women’s cancers, and men’s cancers,’ of course these exist but I believe that both sexes need to be more open when discussing these with each other. This week I am sharing a post by my great friend Athena Lamnisos who is the CEO of the wonderful charity, The Eve Appeal, showing the general lack of knowledge and awareness particularly by us men, when talking about gynaecological issues. Make no mistake we have a valuable role to play, and must get beyond the ’embarrassment issue.’ There can no longer be any excuses! “‘Not just women’s troubles.’ Speaking to a group of city people recently, I started my pitch about The Eve Appeal by asking a question: “How many of you are aware of prostate cancer and its

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Making Patients Number One!

On August 27, 2017   /   cancer, cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   2 Comments
Making Patients Number One!

There are times when it feels like I am swimming against the tide, talking about the uncomfortable things that I see, or more to the point don’t see in cancer support. But virtually everyone I hear from sees the same things and we all agree that it is a scandal, the amount of wastage, be it time or money in the cancer sector mostly due to lack of collaboration. But of course this all comes from the top, and I have recently read the below piece which sums things up perfectly.   “Mental healthcare within the UK and globally has come under increasing scrutiny. With mental health problems being the main cause of overall disease burdens, the second leading cause of disability worldwide, and a major contributor to suicide, there

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The Clock Is Ticking!

On August 13, 2017   /   cancer, cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   2 Comments
The Clock Is Ticking!

Since moving from the commercial world to living full time in the cancer world, the biggest lesson I have learned is patience! During my working days we were penalised financially when things ran late, and I have always had that way of working. Maybe it’s an obsession but bad time keeping is something I cannot abide. Of course there are going to be the odd occasions where you are late but on the whole, I am early! Once I started living my life around hospital appointments I soon realised that very little runs to time, and if I didn’t calm my frustration I would quickly become a very angry man. Now, maybe things have gone too much the other way, where I have become so relaxed about the things I

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Is Modern Day Life Causing Social Isolation?

On August 6, 2017   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   2 Comments
Is Modern Day Life Causing Social Isolation?

Isolation is a word I am using more and more frequently, not always in the physical sense but the emotional too. We hear it daily in the work we do at simPal, and are doing our best to ease that, by helping people stay connected with mobile communication. We deal with every generation from young to old and it is one of the few subjects common to all, which is ironic really as this generation has the most ways we have ever had of keeping in touch. Recently a lady contacted me with her own story, and wanted to share her experiences. “I am writing because over time, my family somehow let my elderly grandmother isolate herself within her home. This led to depression and bouts of ill health before

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The ‘Cracks And Shadows’ Of Cancer Support

On July 30, 2017   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment, social media and cancer support   /   14 Comments
The 'Cracks And Shadows' Of Cancer Support

I was listening recently to the head of UK Building Control, discussing the red tape and complexities that had been allowed to develop over the years. This has produced the current system we seem to have, where nobody is sure of who is responsible for what! Regulations originally put there for safety, but now so difficult to unravel that people can hide behind them. Also creating so many cracks that many people slip through the system. This has all come about because of the terrible tragedy at Grenfell Tower.  Listening to this guy speak about it reminded me more and more of what has been created in the world of cancer support. An N.H.S which is struggling to cope with the new challenges that cancer survivorship is bringing, and not

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