Chris's Cancer Community

The Gift Of Growing Up

Chris On February 4, 2018 / cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment, social media and cancer support / Leave a comment

I can’t believe that I am approaching the age of sixty two. Not just because of my illness, but in general how quickly my life has gone. Since the incredible gift of my grandchildren, I am reliving my youth for the third time, having lived it on my own initially, then with my own sons afterwards. My parents lived through the war, and saw life totally different to the way I am now. We had to struggle for every penny and were one of the last in the street to have a television, phone and car. Difficult to remember that I have seen those times. When I went to school I saw the opportunity of breaking away from the cycle of poverty that my parents had lived. I rebelled against

Making Memories And Story Telling

Chris On January 21, 2018 / cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 12 Comments

In a constantly changing world, my life is also moving quickly. I started with the intention of continuing my battle with large healthcare in 2018, but have had a total change of heart there! Now I have reached the time in my working life where I have to become much more selfish and focus on what I am doing. My personal work is becoming in big demand and of course SimPal is becoming busier by the week. That is enough for me now. I can no longer pick up battles that take my time and focus from things that I can achieve. For many years I have fought the current system and can see very little progress in terms of attitude. I have talked about the waste and duplication amongst

Where Does Your Cancer Cash Go?

Chris On January 7, 2018 / cancer, cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 25 Comments

This year I am focusing on collaboration amongst patient supported work, and how we can affect the current poor outcomes for people affected by cancer. Despite the enormous amount of work and money that goes into it, our survival rates are still some of the worst in Europe. I call this a disaster and like most man made problems, this hasn’t just happened. It is the result of lazy healthcare organisations and a constant stream of politicians from all parties spouting no end of jargon, being massaged by millions of pounds and eager charities looking to further their own influence. Nobody within that cycle wanting to step out of line and lose a cosy career. We all know the increasing cancer figures yet still we can’t improve. Of course this

I See Opportunity Not Obstacles in 2018

Chris On January 1, 2018 / cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / Leave a comment

2017 has been my busiest year yet. Thankfully my health has remained consistent, and I have been able to push forward our work with simPal, and develop my own speaking and writing work. During the last couple of months of the year I have seen big signs to show me that the world of cancer support is finally beginning to understand what must happen if we are going to be able to provide the correct resources going forward, to help the increasing numbers of people affected by cancer. We have been aware for many years that there are far too many cancer charities to be sustainable and that politicians are slowing the progress of healthcare support. But most importantly I have seen a massive ‘ground swell’ by people affected by

Chris Lewis Against Cancer!

Chris On December 17, 2017 / cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 12 Comments

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

Be Kind To Yourself!

Chris On December 3, 2017 / cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival / Leave a comment

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

“Relationships Are Everything”

Chris On November 12, 2017 / cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment, social media and cancer support / 2 Comments

I’m having a relationship with a lady from Australia I have only just met! Also a man from Prague, several people from America, and yes, Mrs L is fully aware. OK, it’s not in a face to face physical sense, but it’s great anyway. The last few weeks have been extremely busy with several presentations to do. Whilst speaking at the Swallows head and neck cancer conference I met Julie McCrossin, who was also doing a presentation. As soon as I saw her title slide I knew immediately she got what we are all doing. Without really realising it we are creating relationships daily. Either physically or through social media we are engaging with others. In many cases it can be hard work and sometimes not worth the effort, but

Worldwide Cancer Collaboration

Chris On October 29, 2017 / cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / Leave a comment

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