‘Without this place I would never have coped’
THE DOVE Centre’s new men’s support group, which meets every Friday morning between 10.30am to midday, cannot praise staff enough for their help, and are encouraging folk to give it a try.
Last year Oban Hospice opened the centre on Stevenson Street, which provides advice and therapies for people with life-limiting or debilitating conditions and their relatives, based on the work of Maggie’s Centres.
Iain MacIntyre, who becomes chairman of its fundraising arm Friends of Oban Hospice today (Thursday), welcomed the new discussion group, saying: ‘There are so many things we can help people with. The great thing is to communicate. People get a huge uplift from meeting other people.’
Oban Hospice director John MacKenzie explained: ‘We based what we are doing on [Glasgow’s] Beatson Centre. They had a men’s group and they served bacon rolls.’
‘Best bacon rolls in town,’ added one of the 20 group members, Murdo, who was also baked a cake for his 70th birthday.
‘It is a nice, friendly atmosphere,’ he told us. ‘Everyone comes from different walks of life. You are with people who are going through the same thing as you have done. What I like about it is we talk about everything else. I look forward to every Friday.’
Robert, a farmer, said: ‘I like meeting other people. It is sharing problems. If you live alone, you can get very isolated.’
Another group member, Bob, praised the centre for helping his recovery from cancer.
‘In 2016 I had a cancerous growth removed from the bladder,’ he explained. ‘The treatment I had at Oban Hospital was first class. I got over it in December but I started taking panic attacks and anxiety.
‘It is harsh living like that, constant worry. I would lie in bed all day. I used to wake up at 2am with cold sweats.
‘A man always thinks he can cope. It is hard for a man to admit he suffers from depression and anxiety. My operation was 2016, but the Macmillan nurse reckoned it was post traumatic stress disorder.’
The nurse suggested he visit Oban’s Dove Centre. ‘My wife and I came here one afternoon and I spoke to Peter [Darling, coordinator].
Bob continued: ‘I came here sceptical of hypnosis, but I have been won over. I can now do my exercises and I can control it.
‘You are never cured. It is just remission. But that does not frighten me any more. It has taught me to live today rather than worry about tomorrow.
‘I never called it cancer till I got in here. I called it my illness. The group have helped me greatly. Without this place I would never have coped. I cannot praise the place high enough. My wife and I are going to make a donation.
‘The staff are fantastic. All this treatment is free. I would love people who have had problems that I have had just to walk in the door and get some treatment. It is not easy. You first have to admit that you need help, but it costs nothing. Give it a try.’
The Dove Centre is also hoping to organise a woman’s support group.