There was a select audience for the Britain Against Cancer conference held in London on the 5th of December. Now that is a big statement name, and I hadn’t even been invited! I immediately wanted to know more. So I went onto the website and found that you could BUY a ticket for £100+, but it also told me that if I was a person affected by cancer I could apply for a FREE ticket on a first come first served basis. I duly did and received one which allowed me to go. Also attending were politicians, NHS, pharmaceutical companies, many charities and some more patients. Not surprisingly as always the patients were in a very small minority. Quite strange really as all the things that were being discussed were
Archive for the cancer survival Category
Unfortunately it has been quite a few weeks since I have been able to sit down and write a blog. Pressure for time has been extreme during November. Not really down to bad planning but many exciting events asking me to speak, unfortunately all coming within the same month. If I add the travelling into the mix, I have found it difficult at times, and this period ended with me being a guest speaker at a fabulous conference in Vienna, which was an incredible experience, but very physically and emotionally demanding. December is deliberately much quieter, and time to recuperate and build up my strength, for what will be another challenging year. I am finding myself increasingly torn between doing more speaking roles, and increasing my travelling, or taking my
I am completely and utterly amazed, that having gone through all that I have in the last few years, I am still alive and being able to do some incredible things! Never knowing what the next call or email might bring. There are so many requests now, that I have to refuse many, ensuring that I have time and energy for those that will make an immediate difference to the people I meet. It is also incredible how many asks I get from abroad. Of course the issues around cancer are the same everywhere, but social media has helped us communicate and share with others that have similar problems to our own. My great interest is in people working differently, with innovative ideas. Being a businessman myself I was always
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
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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