Always there to offer help
Living with or beyond breast cancer is never easy – treatment, scans and the physical and mental impacts can take their toll.
Entering the first national lockdown a year ago this week, people affected by breast cancer faced additional challenges, such as appointments and treatments being paused or cancelled, and at a time of social isolation and separation from loved ones.
As a Clinical Nurse Specialist on Breast Cancer Now’s Helpline, I hear daily how the pandemic has exacerbated an already worrying and uncertain time for people affected by breast cancer.
That’s why, when COVID-19 paused our faceto-face events and courses, we rapidly moved our services online, so that we could continue to be there for people who we know need our support now
more than ever – our Online Services mean we’re one click away for anyone, at any time, following a breast cancer diagnosis.
Thanks to support received from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, our Moving Forward
Online courses help people adjust to life after hospital treatment, offering specialist information and the chance to connect in a safe space with others who understand.
Through Younger Women Together Online, women aged up to 45 join small groups to meet and hear from experts on issues including treatment, fertility, exercise, and mental health.
For people living with incurable secondary breast cancer, we know how valuable it is to connect with others who share similar uncertainties and challenges, so our Living With Secondary Breast Cancer Online course is available 24/7, offering emotional wellbeing support and information.
No-one should face breast cancer alone; we’re always here, via our Helpline and our Online Services.
Sign up now: breastcancernow.org/ online-services
Rachel Rawson, Breast Cancer Now Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Play it down!
Just as Sir Keir Starmer instructs Labour to play down the Government’ s successes over the Covid vaccine up pops Ged Taylor right on cue to do that (letters March 22).
He first goes to the number of deaths in the UK but now thankfully he can no longer claim these are the highest in Europe; I had warned him several times that until the pandemic is over it is foolish to draw comparisons.
He also claims there is no expression of "shame" at the death toll yet in January this year the PM accepted full responsibility for the results of the Government's actions and expressed regret and condolences.
The most blatant use of spin is used when the writer turns his attention to the Nightengale Hospitals.
He claims these hospitals were a PR stunt and goes on to infer these were now being closed because there is no staff to look after patients in the extra beds.
This was no PR stunt; t he extra bed facilities were provided in case the NHS was overwhelmed and could not cope within the existing hospital facilities.
The Nightengale hospitals are being decommission because the NHS hospitals was not overwhelmed .
Try as Labour and its supporters might to deflect from the huge success of the UK's vaccine rollout the facts are there to see. Labour's instructions to its candidates and supporters only underlines that.
Perhaps Ged should cast his eye to the shambles over vaccines in his beloved EU.
Alan Wright. High Barnes.
“We know how valuable it is to connect with
others.”