A local branch of a charity that supports cancer patients and their families is prepared for an increase in people that are in need of its services during isolation. Loneliness is being driven by the pandemic as well as the incoming winter months.
A local branch of a charity that supports cancer patients and their families is prepared for an increase in people that are in need of its services during isolation. Loneliness is being driven by the pandemic as well as the incoming winter months.
The Aberdeen branch of Maggie’s is offering the opportunity for people to participate in their networking groups. This allows people a chance to socialise, bond through shared experiences, and chat about challenges they face as well as coping strategies.
The current networking groups are a fraction of their usual efforts to support people diagnosed with cancer. Maggie’s Aberdeen is also in partnership with Look Good Feel Better in providing a virtual workshop for female patients which aims to improve their self-esteem.
The workshop occurred on November 25th at 10:30am.
The branch also offered face-to-face appointments in the centre alongside assistance provided over the phone or by video call in June.
Maggie’s is named after the founder of the organisation: Maggie Keswick Jencks, who had cancer herself and wanted to create an organisation to help others in the position she once was.
The first centre opened in 1996 in Edinburgh and now has many centres across the United Kingdom. They also have some branches in development worldwide.
Maggie’s works with organisations including: Clic Sargent, Teenage Cancer Trust and Marie Curie.
Keswick Jencks believed that the correct information and a lot of support would allow cancer patients’ an improved quality of life. By opening the centre, her understanding that the diagnosis of cancer can impact families as much as the individual has been enshrined in the organisation’s values.
Research is used to investigate better ways to help patients and their families through the cancer diagnosis and treatment. They continue to utilise research and their founder’s initial values to assist their cause for improved living for those affected by cancer.