Personal Experiences

who had to go down to the theatre late in the evening to correct one of her drainage tubes. She
was worried and anxious about it. When she came back very late we were able to have a cup of
tea with her and give her a bit of moral support.

The oncologist made everyone feel so special. You felt he really cared about what had
happened to you. The Breast Specialist Nurse told me about Bosom Friends support group and
also the fashion show. That really boosts your morale and gives you a lot of confidence. I have
done four fashion shows now.

"I am a member of the Umeed Group which meets here once a week. Umeed is a self
help group for Asian women who have or have had cancer. Umeed is so important to
us, we can get together and talk about our experiences, we can help each other, laugh
with each other and know that everyone in the group understands. All the women look
forward to coming to the Centre each Wednesday. There are so many services,
Transport, Benefits Advice, Counselling, Aromatherapy, English Classes and Computer
Skills, we are happy with all of these.

...even before Chris was ill, I had been looking after two aunts suffering from cancer, plus
my mother who had the onset of senile dementia, plus I was working. And I have my own
health problems too. The cancer patient may not be the only person that a carer is looking
after. Carers do need help and support. Whatever happened to the Almoner?

There used to be a time when you talked to a person who would look into help for patients.

During the visits to outpatients I saw the leaflets for Bradford Cancer Support and I will
always be indebted to them for the great benefits they gave us in many ways. Camilla
arranged all our benefits which we didn't know we were entitled to. Steve taught us painting
which is a miracle as I have difficulty drawing a straight line. Chris wanted to join the class
as soon as he saw my first painting as he was amazed. Our house is like the Tate Gallery!

Lynn introduced me to aromatherapy and during Chris's illness I was able to practise on
him. I used to massage his feet while he was home and in hospital and it used to relax him
and send him to sleep. I trained at college for a year and passed with credits.

I have made many friends, some I know that will always be in my life and I thank you all for
being here to help. Every doctor's surgery and hospital should be made aware of the good
work the support centre is doing for cancer patients, and their carers and allow a
representative from the centre to inform their patients.

I've had a lot of support from here. A lady came to see me from the Centre to help with
claiming benefits. She mentioned the art class and asked if I would be interested in
attending. I finally decided to give it a try. When I first met the art tutor, well....my life was
changed.

At home there's just me and the wife and we don't talk about the cancer very much. Here
you can talk to other people and they are in the same boat. The art tutor is great, you can
talk to him about anything. I never imagined I'd be able to paint. The welfare benefits advice
here is very important too.