Support health & wellbeing of people with cancer

Aim

A series of videos to support the mental health and physical well being of people with cancer from diagnosis through their cancer journey.

Fund Match Opportunity

UCARE has been offered a fantastic and generous opportunity if we reach our AVIVA target of £2500. My Bollox (www.mybollox.co.uk) is a small family run business in Oxfordshire  who sell pants but also raise awareness of male cancers at the same time, and they have offered to match our target amount!   This additional funding will allow us to continue and improve the education and support that we provide to people with cancer on a daily basis. Please help us reach this target!  My Bollox brand has  taken up the torch and run with it.  with this kind, heart warming and AMAZING pledge to match the £2,500 if we can raise it here 

Cancer Patient Support- Support People With Cancer

A series of films focusing on the Health and Well Being of people diagnosed with urological cancer. The series will include information for different stages of the journey from diagnosis through to thrivorship stages. These can be used by people at home or as part of our group support sessions which we run for people with cancer. 

Reducing Isolation

The mental health of people with cancer is very important in terms of how they cope with their cancer treatment. It has been especially important during the pandemic as there are less face to face to appointments and services. People are much more isolated and lonely and therefore at a risk of depression. Being able to access information in the form of video online is really useful and they can access this from the comfort of their own homes. We also are going to run some support sessions for patients and the films will be able to be used as part of this work too, as again connection will reduce isolation. 

Improving Quality of Life 

This UCARE project aims to improve the patient experience and quality of life as well as making systems more cost effective and efficient. People with cancer will have their needs met in a more timely manner. With increased focus on health and well being people will be able to make healthier lifestyle choices and make their care better. It will enable patients to be within a remote health care system which will reduce the expense of attending appointments at the hospital on a regular basis.

Empowerment

This request is really important as it impacts on both the patients ability to self manage, feel empowered due to increased knowledge as well as improve their all round health and well being. It also impacts on the NHS as it frees up the system to see patients that have greater and more complex needs as well as getting new patients seen in a more timely manner. Early diagnosis saves lives. 

Patients often suffer huge anxiety when attending the hospital and again this plan will reduce the number of visits they have to attend at the hospital. 

Who Will This Help?

This work will be aimed at people with cancer who have just been diagnosed through to post treatment. They can be of any age (adults as well as carers). We will be mainly targeting people with urological cancer (prostate, testicular, bladder, kidney cancer) but they will be generic and therefore can be used for people with any tumour type. 

The Difference

The outcome will be for people to access information from their own home, with less risk and also to be able to communicate with communities of people with a similar diagnosis to themselves. The films will provide greater signposting and offer solutions as well as tips and techniques to manage some of the psychological issues that people with cancer may experience. It will provide solutions for self management to empower people with cancer and to help with cope better.

This project successfully funded on 23rd March 2021