Cancer Connections is one of the regional charities supported by Torgersens. Our thanks to them for this article which outlines the great work they do to support the South Tyneside community.
Hearing the doctor say “I’m sorry, it’s not good news: it’s cancer” is almost always devastating and for those who hear it life is seldom the same again. The ‘Big C’ can still seem a formidable and lonely mountain to climb. Very often a cancer diagnosis means dealing with uncertainty, anger, fear, and grief, as well as the side effects of treatment and practical problems that people who have not had cancer never understand.
In these situations, it is often helpful to share problems with others who have gone through the same eperience. At Cancer Connections our staff and volunteers have experience of cancer and are able to help others in a similar situation – diagnosed with cancer, receiving treatment, having had cancer in the past, caring for someone with cancer, or been bereaved. Our aim is to help people living with cancer, in South Tyneside, to return to normal life as far as is possible and enjoy their family, work and leisure.
Established as a charity in 2006 as a volunteer-based charity, Cancer Connections has helped thousands of individuals and families, and is unique in the North East. At our delightful, homely premises, chosen, decorated, and furnished by volunteers, anyone seeking help will find a friendly welcome, a comforting environment and someone to talk with who understands what it is like to have cancer.
The help and support we offer includes: an open-house Drop-In from Monday to Friday – specialist counselling – complementary therapies – information about cancer – family & children’s support – telephone support - bereavement support – home visits. Whatever problems a new visitor is experiencing we will do our best to help or find someone else who can. There is no delay and no ‘waiting time’: if a situation is urgent, we can commence counselling or other support the same or the following day. The ethos of the organisation has always been to ask local people what they need and then find the most caring, efficient, and timely manner with which to respond.
The charity is managed by a board of trustees and directors that includes previous ‘service users’, a solicitor, bank manager, previous mayors of the borough and a retired cancer specialist. We are also pleased to acknowledge the important contributions of our patrons, Dame Margaret Barbour DBE DL, Jade Thirlwall of Little Mix, and double paralympic gold medallist Josef Craig MBE.
The charity’s annual budget is approximately £160,000 most of which is provided by local fundraising and donations, complemented by a grant from the NHS towards the cost of the counselling service and a few northeast charitable sources. Over the past 15 years Cancer Connections has been ‘adopted’ enthusiastically by the people of South Tyneside as their own source of cancer support and it is their generosity that has enabled our development and ensures our future security.
In 2015 Cancer Connections received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services that recognised the invaluable work of so many local residents. In 2017, the charity published an award-winning book that tells the remarkable stories of people with cancer, illustrated by the renowned South Shields artist, Robert Olley. Copies of Connecting with Cancer can be obtained from the charity.
If would like to make making a donation, details are on the home page of Cancer Connections’ website.
