Here when you need us most

HAVE you, or someone you know, been diagnosed with cancer. Perhaps we (Cancer Care The Valleys promoted jointly by Cancer Care Jávea (CC) and Jalón Valley Help (JVH) can help.

Talking about her own recent experience a client said: “The early symptoms can get explained away, but then when you are faced with the diagnosis, the sky falls in. All the ranges of emotions appear - shock, denial, blame, anger, despair, and how will you find the strength to get through this and share it with your loved ones. The medical side can fall into various specialists’ hands, making understanding their diagnoses and proposed treatments even more scary, the medical language and the Spanglish conversations only add to your stress. The top rate attention Cancer Care provides makes it all so much easier to understand and cope with when someone has the time and can explain it to you in English. You get the individual attention that the ever-busy doctors can’t offer, just look at the queues of people waiting for their turn when you’re there. That’s where the CC team proves their worth, over, and over again.

The Cancer Care Lynwen Nurses support English patients in Denia hospital itself, they are fully approved and work closely with the oncology doctors. Their nursing qualifications and experience enable them to cut through the paperwork, explain exactly what the results of tests are and what the proposed treatment programmes entail. They can also answer your questions, cut through the jargon and are able to ask questions within the hospital system on your behalf. This is a journey no one wants to face; the best guides and companions you can have are these wonderful people. Reassuring, caring, and willing to give you their time and support. Encouraging you through the tough times, sharing good news, helping you face any bad news and giving you the precious gift of friendship, in hospital or at home. A visit if necessary and a phone call when you need it. We had so much more peace of mind with them on our side, we found out what we wanted and needed to know and we were so much better prepared to go down that tough road. Eternal thanks to them and I just know how many others will feel this way when they travel with them, as we did.

"Knowing the range of support that Jalón Valley Help offers to all kinds of needy people, we too were supported by them from day one. Any kind of social advice, medical items that made life at home more comfortable and dignified were just a phone call away and there it was, delivery companies would blush at this service! They provide friendly, discreet support - from a phone call to a visit. Their reputation over nearly three decades is more than matched by what they offer, without hesitation, anyone who needs medical equipment at home - their motto says it all, they do ‘make a difference’, you don’t have to struggle, you don’t have to feel you’re battling on your own.

"I know how CC and JVH helped both of us - patient and carer. Now, with CC and JVH working together as ‘Cancer Care The Valleys’, you’ve got the best possible team on your side."

JVH has recognised for many years CC’s specialist knowledge, their close links with Denia oncology department and their strong connections with the medical profession as a whole. In consequence, the two charities have been working together on an ad-hoc patient basis. Now, this new initiative, Cancer Care The Valleys will extend this cooperation by offering weekly consultations to anybody in our community affected in any way by cancer concerns - from initial diagnosis through treatment, into respite care and after cancer family support.

Cancer Care The Valleys promoted jointly by Cancer Care Jávea and Jalón Valley Help aims to provide more localised and accessible opportunities to anyone in the valleys, Jalón, Orba and surrounding area, whose life has been affected in anyway by cancer, with the overall aim of improving quality of life by supporting and advising people on their individual concerns.

Weekly cancer drop-in sessions will be held, beginning on Thursday, April 14, from 11.30–13.30 at the JVH Ánimo Centre in Alcalalí.

All sessions will be held with/ led by a nurse, registered here in Spain and a member of the Colegio Oficial de Enfermería de Alicante.

An initial assessment will be carried out by the qualified nurse in attendance and the team will aim to identify potential emerging issues that can be dealt with locally and easily, with or without requiring medical attention, therefore enabling care to be planned and emergency hospital admissions averted. This will involve the nurse’s ability to appraise, treat and manage the health concerns of individuals and their families, enabling them to promote health and wellbeing in the patients they care for.

Our nurses practice autonomously and integrate knowledge of cancer and medical treatments into:

• Assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of an individual’s problems and concerns

• Using and applying technical knowledge of cancer and treatment to oversee and coordinate services, personalise ‘the cancer pathway’ for individuals the complex information and support the needs of those individuals and their families

• Acting as the English/Spanish

speaking professional conduit for the palliative care and domiciliary team and the individual

• Using empathy, knowledge, and experience to assess and alleviate the psychosocial suffering of cancer, including referral to other agencies or disciplines as appropriate

• Using technical knowledge and insight, from patient experience, to lead service redesign, to implement improvements and to make services responsive to individual needs

Referral and liaison may be proposed to the following agencies, as appropriate:

• General practitioners

• Health centre nurse team

• Palliative care team

• Hospital domiciliary care team

• Denia hospital oncology department

• Social work department

• AECC psychotherapy department

• Cancer Care Jávea counsellor

• Jalón Valley Help for equipment needs

• Patient support, individuals, and groups

Follow up home assessment and care will be carried out as necessary and according to individual needs and financial resources.

So if you would like to attend the drop-in please come along or, if you prefer, make a booking by contacting Jayne on 722 768 093.

JVH and CC are pleased to confirm that the official launch of their new venture, Cancer Care The Valleys, will take place at the charity concert ‘Showtime’ to be held at the culture centre in Benissa on Thursday, April 7 at 19.30, where The Entertainers will be providing an evening of pop songs and show classics for our enjoyment. To book your tickets contact Pam on eventsjvh@gmail.com or telephone 634 310 415.