Courses and Workshops
The Cancer Wellbeing and Information Centre offers a number of free courses and workshops designed specifically for cancer patients. These ‘Self-Management’ courses are designed to help patients draw on their inner strengths to achieve better coping strategies for themselves and for others. Please see below for further details:-
H.O.P.E. Course | Look Good Feel Better Beauty Workshop | Moving Forward Course (Breast Cancer) | ‘Self-Management’ courses offered elsewhere/on-line
H.O.P.E. Course
What is H.O.P.E?
H.O.P.E (Help to Overcome Problems Effectively) is a licensed programme developed by Coventry University and Macmillan Cancer Support to help people who have had or have cancer to get on with their lives.
It is an interactive, group based, self management support course, which runs for 6 weeks, with each weekly session lasting 2.5 hours. It is for groups of between 6 and 12 and is free to attend. To get the best out of the course you do need to be committed to attending the whole six week course.
The sessions are run by trained H.O.P.E facilitators who are either health or social care professionals or trained volunteers who have had a cancer experience.
Who is it for?
Adults, aged 18 and over, who are coming to the end of treatment/surgery or have recently completed it or anyone living with and beyond cancer.
How will the course benefit you?
The course concentrates on focusing and rediscovering your inner strengths and resilience to help you cope emotionally, psychologically and practically. Time is spent in facilitated discussions, group activities, information sharing and tools for you to try at home inbetween each session.
The course deals with:
Goal setting and action planning
Looking for solutions to problems
Stress management (e.g. mindfulness and relaxation)
Fatigue management
Identifying your strengths
Becoming more positive, grateful and appreciating life more
Healthy lifestyles (e.g. eating more healthily and physical activity)
Prioritising the important things in life
Fear of cancer recurrence
Body image and relationships
Communication skills
If you are interested in attending a H.O.P.E. course at the Cancer Wellbeing and Information Centre, please call us on 01206 745347. As groups are purposely kept small, there is often a waiting list, but we will aim to offer you a place on a course as soon as we can.
Look Good Feel Better
Look Good Feel Better is a national registered charity that aims to help boost both the physical and emotional wellbeing of people living with any type of cancer. Group sessions and tutorials are led by trained volunteers and they offer the chance to learn some useful skills and techniques about how to help manage the visible side-effects of cancer treatment. Topics covered include skincare, make-up, grooming, hair loss and wigs etc. The sessions also offer the chance to meet others in a similar situation. Attendees are provided with an accompanying ‘goody bag’ filled with appropriate skin care and make-up products which are donated to the charity by the beauty industry.
To find out more about the charity, please click here to access their website.
There is a waiting list to attend this workshop at the Wellbeing and Information Centre. If you would like to add your name to the waiting list, please contact us on 01206 745347.
Look Good Feel Better for Men
Although the ‘face-to-face’ sessions are primarily aimed at ladies, the charity do offer gentlemen access to online ‘skin-fitness’ and grooming workshops, as well as a dedicated booklet with lots of help and advice about managing some of the side effects of cancer treatment. This booklet can be posted or emailed to you on request. To find out more, book yourself on to a men’s online course or to order a booklet, please click here.
Moving Forward Course
Moving Forward courses are provided by the National Breast Cancer charity ‘Breast Cancer Now’. You don’t always feel “back to normal” when you finish hospital treatment for primary breast cancer. Coping with the shock of a diagnosis, treatment and side effects, and worries about recurrence can be hard. That’s why Moving Forward is here.
You can join Moving Forward at a face-to-face course or online.
FACE TO FACE: Through supportive, open conversations in a safe, confidential space, you’ll connect with people who understand. And you’ll find the tools you need to feel more empowered, confident and in control. Ready to move forward with your life. We keep groups small, up to 15 people. Each course has an expert facilitator, trained volunteers and a Q&A session with one of our healthcare professionals. You’ll also be supported by our journal and online information hub. So you can find the answers to the questions that are important to you.
The group course next takes place on two half day sessions a week apart on 16 April and 23 April 2024 in Capel St Mary.
You can self -refer by clicking here. Or for more information click here.
ONLINE: An on-line course run in partnership with NHS hospitals, the course usually takes place over half a day for three or four weeks. Delivered by a range of expert speakers, it aims to provide information, support and professional guidance on how to cope with and adjust to life after breast cancer treatment. Topics covered may include: healthy eating, exercise, managing menopausal symptoms, lymphoedema, cancer fatigue, and intimacy and relationships.
The course is open to people who have had a primary breast cancer diagnosis and have finished their Colchester or Ipswich hospital-based treatment within the last 2 years.
To register with the charity to access the online course, please click here.
Please watch the video below for further information about the course:-
They also offer an app ‘Becca’, your pocket guide to moving forward. You'll receive daily information and support from bloggers, specialists and trusted online sources to help you live well after treatment. Click here to download.
Other ‘self-management’ courses/workshops available online:-
Cancer Support UK
Cancer Support UK provides practical and emotional support to people living with cancer, both during and after the treatment period. They support people with all kinds of cancer across the UK.
Their Cancer Coach programme is an eight-week structured peer support and resilience course – delivered by phone or via Zoom – for people nearing the end of cancer treatment, or who have finished physical treatment. Developed by a range of experts, the programme offers much needed encouragement and emotional support, which is fundamental to recovery. Groups are run by people who can empathise and understand what it’s like – as they have experienced cancer themselves. Click here to access information about the programme.
Main website: cancersupportuk.org
Telephone: 020 3983 7616
SafeFit
SafeFit has been designed to support people living with cancer to maintain and improve their physical and emotional wellbeing, whilst following Government guidelines. This includes information about preparing for and going through cancer treatment during the Covid crisis.
It is a free remote trial for anyone in the UK with suspicion of, or confirmed diagnosis of, cancer. You will be put in contact with a cancer exercise specialist who will help you. To access the course and to find out more click here.
Penny Brohn UK
UK based registered cancer charity that focuses on a ‘whole life’ approach aiming to build resilience in every aspect of life and supporting the body’s natural ability to heal and repair itself. They recognise that all parts of ourselves – mind, body, spirit and emotions – are all closely connected and work together to support our immune system and its ability to keep us well. Their approach provides a powerful combination of physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual support that is designed to help anyone affected by cancer, at any stage of the disease.
Through courses, groups and individual sessions cancer patients can learn how to eat well and stay active, manage emotions and relationships, and reconnect with the things in life that you love – all of which are linked to health and helps bring a renewed sense of hope and control.
Website: pennybrohn.org.uk
Online Group Sessions webpage: pennybrohn.org.uk/find-help/online-services
Tel: 0303 3000 118
Shine Cancer Support
Shine is the only UK charity that support adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s who have experienced a cancer diagnosis. They offer a range of online and ‘in person’ courses and workshops. Online offerings include yoga, Pilates and circuit exercise classes, recordings of well-being sessions and podcasts.
Main website: shinecancersupport.org
Online courses webpage: shinecancersupport.org/online-workshops
Please click here to access the ‘On-Line Support’ page of our website, which may contain some additional help and support resources which may be of interest.