Caring volunteers in training link with Christie

PATIENT Anne Kilgarriff (centre), from Chadderton, is pictured with (from left): Joanne Barber, senior complementary therapist at the Christie; Peter Hibbert, complementary therapist at Oldham Cancer Support Centre; Chris Hoyle; Dr Peter MacKereth, clinical lead for complementary therapy at the Christie; and Beverley Heap, complementary therapist at Oldham Cancer Support Centre.

OLDHAM Cancer Support Centre has linked up with the Christie Hospital to offer specialist training to its complementary therapists.

And two experts from the world-famous cancer hospital spent a morning at the Failsworth centre to find out how they can support it.

Dr Peter MacKereth is clinical lead for complementary therapy at the Christie, where he heads a team of 35 therapists.

He and senior complementary therapist Joanne Barber work in Christie’s rehabilitation unit, and freely give up every other weekend to run courses and pass on their specialist knowledge to therapists from all over the world.

A number of the 12 therapists who work voluntarily at Oldham Cancer Support Centre have undergone training to adapt their skills, and the rest are booked in over the course of the next few months.

Between them they offer reflexology, massage, aromatherapy, Indian head massage and reiki.

Therapist Beverley Heap said: “The course taught me some really new ideas that helped me understand what people with cancer need.”

Dr MacKereth explained: “We show therapists how to adapt treatments, such as by not over-exposing people who are not comfortable with uncovering parts of their bodies.

“We show them how to be sensitive to each individual, using light, holding and comforting pressure, bearing in mind their clients may have had surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or their hair may have fallen out.”

Chris Hoyle founded the voluntarily-run Oldham Cancer Support Centre 15 months ago to plug a gap he discovered after he was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2004.

The 50-year-old father-of-three recalled a period of floundering when intensive care from the NHS ended, but he was not well enough to return to work.

With his dedication, and that of a handful of stoic volunteers, most of whom had been treated for cancer, the centre has gone from strength to strength.

It is run entirely from money brought in by fund-raisers, although it is based in rooms at Failsworth Primary Care Resource Centre donated by NHS Oldham.

The support centre funds the £135-per-person cost of the Christie courses, and Chris said it was money well spent.

He explained: “It reassures our clients. They feel much more comfortable having therapies because of our link with the Christie.

“The difference in people from when they come for a first treatment to a few sessions down the line is huge.

“They are more relaxed and confident, and in a better place to deal with their treatment.”

Chris added: “We decided to send our therapists on the course because we want to get it right - for an hour or an hour-and-a-half they can make the world go away.”

Anne Kilgarriff, from Chadderton, found out about the centre six weeks ago, and has now had several treatments of massage and reiki, which she described as “wonderfully relaxing.”

She is being treated with chemotherapy and said: “I have doctors looking after my medical needs, but at the centre people are concerned with my well-being.

“That feeling of well-being has increased so much, and I find I can switch off. I have never been so relaxed in my life, and I take the effects away with me.

“Everyone at the centre is so welcoming, it’s a wonderful place and they are wonderful people.”

The centre has now been recognised by the Christie as a valuable community service which can help support cancer patients.

It is one of only six referral centres linked to the Christie, and is named in a pamphlet telling patients where they can continue to get complementary therapies.

Dr MacKereth said: “We have really struggled to find places to refer patients on — when they are tired from treatments the last thing they want to do is get in the car and battle through traffic to come to the Christie for complementary therapy.”