News and updates from today's Cancer Survivorship Summit
Chair's Welcome and Introduction
Minesh Patel
Head of Policy
Macmillan Cancer Support
A Cancer Survivor’s Perspective
Ceinwen Giles
Director of Partnerships and Evaluation, Shine Cancer Support
& Chair of the Patient and Public Voices Forum
NHS England Cancer Programme
Ceinwen is the founding director of Shine Cancer Support which aims to provide support to young adults with a cancer diagnosis that suits their lifestyle. Ceinwen’s presentation was based on her own experience living with cancer and the work she is now involved in. Ceinwen described the physical and psychological impact of her cancer and the impact it has had on her lifestyle including being diagnosed with PTSD. She said life with cancer is really messy, there are lots of setbacks, recovery is not straightforward.
Shine Cancer Support has 6 themes:
- Living with uncertainty – coping with anxiety and depression
- Working after cancer
- Fertility
- Relationships and dating
- Caring for young children
- Finance
Ceinwen focused on living with uncertainty which applies to a lot of cancer patients and should be relevant for health professionals, she said there is a fear of relapse and there are late effects such as bone density, concerns for children and life expectancy. Shine refer to a grieving wheel which covers different response stages to a cancer diagnosis including life as usual, shock, chaos, new beginning – Ceinwen said there are different losses at different times.
Ceinwen provided tips for supporting patients. She said they are rarely asked how they are feeling and men in particular need encouragement, her tips include – ask how are you feeling – normalise feelings – recognise the value of peer support – make people aware of the support available and keep reminding them.
• what support do people with cancer and living beyond cancer, and their families, need?
• improving public awareness of support for people living with and beyond cancer
• the impact of Covid-19 as a cancer survivor
Improving patient information and support for Cancer Survivors
Louise Smith
Macmillan Survivorship Lead
East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
• improving patient information and communciation
• what information and support do people want?
• supporting cancer survivors through isolation and Covid-19