Archive for the cancer survival Category

Raising Awareness Must Lead To Change!

On September 23, 2018   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   6 Comments
Raising Awareness Must Lead To Change!

I am writing this piece after spending a very sociable evening with the team at Leukaemia Care and Quality Health. We were there to hear the latest patient statistics around blood cancers. After a few slides in, I felt a dramatic case of deja vu! It was as if my life had stood still for eleven years. Early diagnosis, emotional and financial support were the key findings. Exactly as they were when I was going through treatment in 2007. We were also talking about educating GPs to better recognise blood cancers, which I must admit worried me. Although there are some rare ones, I believe I can personally recognise most of the main signs myself!  ‘Raising awareness’ are the words I hear most when talking about cancer. From diagnosis, treatment,

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Why We Must Put Cancer On The Curriculum!

On September 9, 2018   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   2 Comments
Why We Must Put Cancer On The Curriculum!

 As you may know it is Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month and I am delighted to feature a blog written by a young lady who wanted to tell us about her perspective and why she, like many of us believe that cancer should be a subject which is openly discussed during education. Obviously this is written from the female perspective but I believe it is important for all children to understand more about cancer, which has become the ‘modern day plague.’ “The results are in, and Eve Appeal-commissioned research has found that two thirds of parents want their children to receive a formal education regarding the signs and symptoms of cancer. The majority of participants believed that fostering open, informative conversations about cancer in the classroom could help combat associated stigmas

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A Cancer Conference That’s Fun?

On September 2, 2018   /   cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment, Uncategorized   /   6 Comments
A Cancer Conference That's Fun?

Attending cancer conferences has become a big part of my life. Usually I am a speaker and rarely attend for the entire conference, but on other occasions I am there as a guest. Hours of watching very clever people reading from a PowerPoint presentation is not my idea of fun. There is only so long you can concentrate on that type of delivery, unless you are fully engaged in the subject. Senior management and clinicians are not always the best people to present as many lack any charisma, and struggle to do their subject justice. Of course cancer is a very difficult subject to talk about, and can be tricky to make it entertaining. I always feel that to make an impact, you really need a good spread of experience

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My Story Is All About Hope!

On August 26, 2018   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   24 Comments
My Story Is All About Hope!

This year has been an incredible one for me personally. As the cancer support sector in the UK continues to be dominated by the same organisations, who have little to offer other than fundraising challenges, my focus has turned to the global issues of cancer. I have travelled to places where there is a real determination to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. This despite those countries having nothing like the resources we have, but key to that is the will to improve!  My story has become a beacon throughout the world, not only for the work I do, but for the hope I give. As most of you know, my health was so poor that I was given only six months to live, and now I am

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What Exactly Is The Role Of Cancer Research UK?

On August 5, 2018   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   8 Comments
What Exactly Is The Role Of Cancer Research UK?

My post last week about the charity world received so much feedback and opened up many more questions! I was directed to the below piece about Cancer Research UK, the biggest cancer charity in the UK. Despite the name I have often wondered what they do and how they work, with such an incredibly large budget. I asked around and nobody was really clear. Then I was pointed to the article from Chris Woolams which I have featured below.  “Is it just me who thinks that Cancer Research UK is really just a Pharmaceutical company hiding under the pretext of being a cancer charity; a wolf in sheep’s clothing? When we interviewed the Chief Executive a few years back and asked him his aims he answered immediately, “To get more

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It’s Still Take, Take, Take, From Many Charities!

On July 29, 2018   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   30 Comments
It's Still Take, Take, Take, From Many Charities!

In the last few weeks I have found myself facing several charities with strange ideas of what collaboration means. They seem to believe it means they tell me about campaigns and I share them through my social media channels! Many of those have vast marketing teams paid very well to do that. From most, I receive little or no sharing at all and only hear from them when they want something. It is quite sad that nothing seems to have changed since I wrote the below post eighteen months ago!!  “We are so far only one month in to 2017, and I can say that in terms of my cancer work it has been an incredible start. I have frequently talked and written about the frustrating lack of collaboration in

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Work And Breast Cancer, The Uncomfortable Truth!

On July 22, 2018   /   cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment   /   17 Comments
Work And Breast Cancer, The Uncomfortable Truth!

Unfortunately, the future of our cancer care lies with very flaky politicians, fully employed in fighting Brexit. Alongside them are giant healthcare organisations that choose the path of least resistance, attempting to find favour with the individuals in office at the time. Millions gets spent every year by charities to lobby Government for whatever is their campaign at the time. Even today, we are still asking politicians to scrap hospital parking costs! A subject that was being discussed eleven years ago when I was first diagnosed. The reality of the urgent problems is being lost, maybe this is intentional? When I was approached by Dr Dianne Dowling to share her fully researched evidence I was delighted to have the difficult facts to share. This is just a small part of the

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