Welcome to another blog by carer activist and author Matthew McKenzie. I raise awareness of mental health carers and those caring for someone affected by Cancer. With my focus on cancer awareness, I paid a visit to guy’s cancer centre. On Sunday 25th of June they put on a lovely event “Cancer Survivors Day – A celebration of Hope”.

There are currently 3 million people living with cancer in the UK. With such an event there is always hope to battle and survive cancer. The event focused not only on the importance of hope, but also to acknowledge the clinical and research skills that is offered to the community.

The event was supported by Guys Cancer centre, Kings College London, Kings Health Partners, South East London Cancer Alliance and Guy’s Cancer Charity.

However on such a hot day, what things did I see at the event?

A fair amount of my time I was chatting to stall holders about what they were presenting. One of the most important stalls was the Cancer Care Map Stall.

Cancer Care Map is a simple, online resource that aims to help you find cancer support services in your local area wherever you are in the UK. Cancer Care Map is run by The Richard Dimbleby Cancer Fund charity.

So why is that stall important for me? Two reasons to be honest. I am known for running carer groups, plus I network with unpaid carers a lot. With my links to health and social care services, it is about time I started a cancer carer group. I have always wondered what happens to those caring for someone with cancer. Where do hospitals send them? Are carer centres focused on cancer carers?

With Cancer Care Map, I can advertise my group although I still would need support of the hospitals. It is important carers are given a voice and they should not be forgotten. The other reason is Cancer Care Map team will provide resources for my carer information stall.

I also visited a few other other stalls, but here is a small list of the ones I visited.

Speech and Language stall
Physiotherapy stall
Tree of Hope
Cancer Research UK
Dietitians
Occupational Therapy stall

At the start of the event, we were given an opening speech by David Cheeseman who is director of strategy at Royal Free Charity. Plus an opening speech from Anne Rigg who is consultant medical oncologist and medical director for Cancer & Surgery.

After the inspirational talk, it was on the the fashion show. I was inspired by the models energy and creativity.

The audience certainly enjoyed the show and it was a great turnout.

After speaking to more stall holders, I bumped into Jannike Nordlund who is the Patient Involvement Lead and Cancer Improvement Manager South East London Cancer Alliance. There will be some good focus for carers so watch this space. I still need to chat to the 3 other London cancer alliance leads, but that will take time.

Eventually I came back to the main stage to listen to the string Orchestra, which I found relaxing.

All in all, I really enjoyed the event and felt the message so important for those living with cancer and beyond. We need to celebrate the importance of hope, there is always a chance and everyone plays a part.

Thanks for reading.