Coping with Cancer Stress – FREE support group

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Published on Saturday, 09 March 2013 09:00

Last Updated on 09 March 2013

Monica Costa

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How do you deal with cancer? Paul’s Cancer Support Centre offers FREE support to people interested in
learning relaxation and coping skills.

It is a rare person who is not challenged by cancer and the experience
affects people in many different ways. Paul’s Cancer Support
Services, a registered charity based in Wandsworth, London, will be
running a free online course “Coping with Cancer Stress”, once a week
for 4 weeks starting on Wednesday 27 March 2013 (7.30-8.30pm). The course
is designed for people with cancer, including families and carers,
teaching self-help techniques to deal with the emotional fall-out of a
diagnosis.

The course is led by Ella Titman, a trained counsellor and yoga
teacher, supported by a team of four other people including a
hypnotherapist and cancer information nurse. Ella comments: “There is
so much you can do yourself to reduce the stress of cancer, increase
feelings of well-being and improve your quality of life. This online
course is designed to help participants feel more in control of their
lives by learning relaxation and coping skills. It also provides an
opportunity for you to share your experience with others who
understand your situation.”

Professor Alastair Cunningham, developer of the course’s content,
began work as a cancer-related cell biologist and later retrained as a
clinical psychologist as he felt he could be more helpful to people
with cancer in the psychological sphere. Alastair started courses for
people living with cancer in 1982 at the Ontario Cancer Institute,
Canada’s largest cancer treatment centre where the full programme was
initially based and its impact was thoroughly researched.

The majority of course participants have been on the cancer journey
for a while and are looking for a way to handle the challenges life
presents and improve their quality of life. However, the programme is
accessible to people at all stages of their cancer journey.
The full programme starts with the sharing of stress reduction skills.
Level 1 (4 sessions) is called Coping with Cancer Stress. A second 8
week level, Developing Your Self Care Skills, enables people to
practise new skills and embed those learnt on level 1.

Petra Griffith’s Director of Paul’s Cancer Support Centre adds: “The
course looks at how people can help themselves to deal with the
impacts of a cancer diagnosis, involving information sharing and an
introduction to relaxation and awareness practices. By sharing skills
it is demonstrated how to be more relaxed and more able to function
regardless of the diagnosis. We hope that the course we provide will
make a real difference to the lives of people with cancer, their
families and friends.”

Participants can access the course online from home through webinars.
Only basic computer skills are needed and technical support is
available. Subsequent courses are available to explore developing
self-care skills in more depth. There are no course fees but
donations are welcome. For more information about the course and to
register your interest, visit:
www.paulscancersupportcentre.org.uk

Image credits: Jon-Meikle-photography