Chris's Cancer Community

Cancer Does Not Discriminate (Jeremy’s Story)

Chris On February 19, 2017 / cancer, cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment, social media and cancer support / 5 Comments

In my work I get to meet some wonderful people and Jeremy Marshall is one of those. A man who’s life was also brought crashing down with a cancer diagnosis. I was delighted that Jeremy accepted my invitation to share his experiences on the site. His career is one that most of us can only dream about, but of course when it comes to cancer there is no discrimination. “I have had a very happy and blessed life. I was never in hospital for a day, married for nearly 30 years and have three wonderful children plus a really interesting career. Then about 4 years ago I found a small lump on my ribs. At my wife’s urging I went to the GP who said “it’s probably just a fatty

Facing Cancer And Overcoming Fears

Chris On February 5, 2017 / cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 5 Comments

I am writing this on World Cancer Day, and as our blog is truly international I wanted to share a piece from some friends in the US. This day is all about unity, and I have found that cancer is unifying many people, wherever they are in the world. Personally I don’t believe it is one day, I feel it is something we should work a lot harder at to continue into the future! Of course there is always a commercial angle to it, where you can buy various wrist bands but it should mean so much more than that in the longer term. Cancer seems to unify the people affected by it but divide the people working in it. Healthcare, pharmaceutical and charities all working in their own way, which will of course

Why The Lack Of Sharing From Many Cancer Charities?

Chris On January 29, 2017 / cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 18 Comments

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 the cancer sector, and unfortunately that is still the case now. Large brands only interested in their own marketing and income streams, and the N.H.S going from one crisis to another. Many years have passed since I started my own cancer journey, and my business skills have shown me a very different way to help people affected by cancer. Not just the patient but also family members etc. We ( Your simPal) wanted to provide help directly to people, with all money raised being passed back to help others. Most importantly

Cancer And The Rapidly Increasing Numbers

Chris On January 22, 2017 / cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 8 Comments

Having lived my life in the cancer world for nearly ten years, I thought I might be able to say that there is very little that shocks me about the impact of this disease. After all, I see it up close and personal via the work I do myself, and the patients and organisations we work with via Your simPal. We hear the statistics, currently one in three are affected, rising quickly in the next few years to one in two. Yes that is half of us! Whilst doing a presentation recently I asked the people in the room to imagine that half of them had cancer, and they were truly shocked, looking at it in that way. But this is not scare tactics, it’s fact. The good news is

Politicians And Healthcare? No Thanks!

Chris On January 15, 2017 / cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 4 Comments

So we are now well into 2017, and so far very little has changed since 2016. Celebrity deaths continue apace, and every aspect of our society is becoming dogged by politics. Personally I have no interest in politics whatsoever. Politicians are generally overpaid wordsmiths looking to tie us up in knots, while they make a fabulous personal living. With all the streams of communication we have these days, I find it hard to believe anything that happens outside of my own house! If I were to judge the world by what I read in the paper or see on my television I would be in a permanent state of depression! At the age of 60 I have seen many recessions, and bitter trade union disputes. Times when I thought any

Sometimes Everything May Not Be Enough!

Chris On January 8, 2017 / cancer awareness, cancer charities, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 2 Comments

Of course bad health never takes any time off and although many of us have been isolated in a ‘Christmas bubble,’ others have been dealing with their issues. Time away from your regular work is a thing we all need, but the problems don’t go away, and over the festive period, can in fact be exaggerated. My neighbour’s Mum died on Christmas Day, so they not only had the emotional issues but the practical ones too. Finding the right services over Christmas can certainly be challenging. My phone and email have been extremely busy since New Year, and some of the messages we have received through our Your simPal service have brought me to tears. Firstly to be told how we helped so many people over the Christmas period, then to

A List For Living

Chris On January 1, 2017 / cancer, cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 8 Comments

I would like to start by wishing everybody a happy New Year! Over the years I have found the Christmas holidays a great time to reflect on what happened for me in 2016 and make a bit of a map for things I want to do in 2017. This has become even more important, after the terrible year of celebrity deaths we have just left. My mum also died last year and I have spent a long time trying to straighten everything out, after a very complex legal saga. So from that perspective a very emotionally challenging time. It is ironic that I had already selected this subject before the deaths of Rick Parfitt, George Michael, and Carrie Fisher. Many of these people were ‘taken’ relatively early, but seem to

Looking Beyond The ‘Cancer Label’

Chris On December 11, 2016 / cancer awareness, Cancer Support, cancer survival, cancer treatment / 9 Comments

One of the great things about the work I do is that I get to meet so many wonderful people from around the world. Of course social media has been an incredible tool for me, so distance is no longer a barrier. A regular part of my life now is ‘Skyping’ with people in some far flung places, and we are all talking about the issues surrounding cancer. Of course many of these are common, wherever we live, so it is wonderful to be part of the global movement that is working to improve the lives of people living with cancer. One of those wonderful people I referred to earlier is Chloé, who writes about the issues of being ‘labeled,’ and the negativity that this can create. I don’t know why, but as