Practical help on road to recovery

Reporter: David Whaley
Date published: 04 July 2014


Chronicle editor David Whaley is sharing is experiences of throat cancer treatment with readers.

Part eight: helping recovery

THE stretchy yellow man is actually only two inches tall, but he has helped me and many others learn about “pandiculation” - no you don’t have to send the children out.


It is amazing to see how something so simple can help to ease anxiety and calm the inner self when life is beginning to run out of control.

The stretch-yawn technique and the little rubber man are the work of Christie doctor Peter Mackereth: simply pulling the limbs of the wee man while doing calm, diaphragmatic breathing really does the trick.

I saw how first-hand, when a group of patients were having their patience tested by computer delays. Enter complementary therapist Joanne Barber who, on seeing the growing number becoming ill at ease, dished out her yellow helpers and ran an impromptu stretch session.

Within minutes there were a few more smiles around the waiting room.

On another occasion I saw Joanne help a woman having difficulty lying down for radiotherapy because of pains in her back. Hypnotherapy could be her solution, but for others it might be a programme to quit smoking. There seems to be no end to Joanne’s talents. I had already dubbed her the human chocolate milkshake after a soothing foot massage. Milkshake was one of the few things that calmed my sore throat after the treatments...

People like Joanne really do work a kind of magic to ease the path of patients through their treatment.

People like personal stylist Valerie Driver. Ten years ago she saw the devastating effect on a patient’s confidence and self-esteem when her daughter Lucy, now 31, was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Valerie identified that women in particular need help to lift their spirits. Her free styling sessions are a great success in doing just that.

Delivered either as one-to-one consultations or in small groups, women are shown how to make their wardrobe work for them.

“Too many women fighting cancer spend their time wanting to be invisible, not being looked at,” Val explained.

“The group sessions work well because the women swap tips. I can show them one dress that can have five different looks. I try to show how simple scarves and jewellery can really lift their clothes,” said Valerie, who gives her time free, having retired from her job as a social worker.

There is also always plenty of demand for the work of Steve Lawton and Carol Laidlaw, who offer specialist benefits advice every Thursday afternoon at Christie Oldham.

Money can be a worry for some families hit by the thunderbolt of cancer. For many it means a lengthy period off work; a long recovery period for some can mean their partner being off too, to act as a carer.

A drastic reduction in income — especially for those reduced to statutory sick pay (SSP) — can have knock-on effects on mortgage repayments and spiralling debt.

For many other cancer patients, taking a step to normality after undergoing a rigorous treatment programme can be difficult.

The team at Oldham Cancer Support Centre in Failsworth offers a two-week “Back to the Future” programme of talks and activities.

I spoke to 64-year-old former teaching assistant Kathleen Howarth, who retired from St Edward’s RC School in Lees in January only to be diagnosed with breast cancer months later.

Both the support centre’s programme and the free Boots make-up workshops had done wonders for her self esteem.

“All the staff who help you are brilliant. You are not a patient number but a person, and that helps a lot,” she said.

Each patient helped by these terrific people is encouraged more quickly and confidently along the long road to recovery.

For myself? Well I’m now waiting for the consultant’s verdict on my radiotherapy.

I have had the very difficult task of writing this week’s feature in the shade of a Spanish villa, while Wendy and some friends help me to soak up some life-affirming sunshine.

It will be a few weeks before we get to hear what effect the treatment has had.

I’ll keep you posted; in the meantime, keep smiling