The Annual Autumn Event

We are delighted to announce that the Annual October Event will take place at the Somerset County Cricket Ground on Saturday 18th of October 2014. We aim to have a packed programme for you with a talk about the latest surgical procedures, an update on the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, GP representation and more, followed by a buffet lunch where you can mingle with members of the group, plus speakers and representatives from the Colorectal Team at our local District General Hospital. At last years event we also had a lively question and answers session with the speakers and professionals, which will be repeated this year.

The Somerset County Cricket Ground is a lovely venue being central and with parking plus being accessible for those who wish to arrive on foot or use public transport. There is also disabled access and facilities

We very much hope that you would like to join us and look forward to seeing you there. Invitations are on their way to many of you but, in the meantime, if you would like to attend please call 01823 342452 for details and to allow for catering,

Fit for treatment

 So you have been told that you have a diagnosis of bowel cancer and you need to have treatment. Your life has been turned upside down and can feel a little bit as though you don't have any control over it but you want to try and do something that will help. "Is there anything I can do to help my treatment?" is a question often asked of professionals. The simple answer to this is yes. There has been a large amount of research undertaken looking at the benefit of fitness during and after treatment. Macmillan Cancer Support has some good general advice about physical activity and have some inspiring stories that may be of help. 

As we all know, bowel cancer, despite being attributed to the over 60's, can and does affect all age groups. Keeping physically active is just as vital for all age groups wether you are 16, in your 20's or 30's or indeed 70, 80 or 90. Something as simple as a ten minute walk or some stretching exercises to keep you supple has been shown to have a definite benefit on both physical as well as mental health. If you are unsure then ask your local professionals for advice or use one of the regulated sites such as Macmillan Cancer Support to guide you. This is something that you can do to help yourself  and assist you to retain the feeling of control in to your everyday life. 

We have added some links to some sites that you may find useful.
www.wcrf-uk.org 
www.cancerresearchuk.org 

www.nacer.org.uk

www.wcrf-uk.org 

Presentation

You may, or may not, be aware that we have been raising funds to assist in the purchase of a bowel scope imager for the endoscopy department of our local hospital. This piece of equipment is essentially able to help guide the colonoscopy (fibrotic tube) around the colon and make it both easier for the professional undertaking the procedure and also for the patient undergoing it. We are delighted to inform you that the group has formally presented the bowel scope imager to our local hospital this week. This has only been possible through  YOU and your continued support and for that we would like to thank you. We thank those of you who take a collection box to receive donations, to those of you who undertake various sponsored feats of a physical nature, those who request donations to us in lieu of presents on special occasions, those who choose to make a regular monthly donation, the list goes on. We are truly grateful because it means that we can continue to raise the profile of bowel cancer for our local population but also, through YOUR donations, try and improve the diagnosis, treatment and care of bowel cancer patients in our area. 

We would like to thank each and everyone of you and hope that you are as proud as us to be able to say that we have assisted in purchasing this important piece of equipment.

 

The pictures show the bowel scope imager (or sat nav) and members of the support group committee presenting the imager to Ros Wyke, Chairman of our local hospital and members of the Endoscopy team, as well as Mr Edwards and Mr Mackey Consultant Colorectal Surgeons at the Trust and Maria Salter, one of the Colorectal Nursing Team.

Upcoming Events for your calendar

We are pleased to be able to inform you about two upcoming events this year.

 We will once again have a stand at the Taunton Flower Show on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd August 2014. Would be delighted to see you all. As with last years stand, we will have a raffle and be available to chat, have some good leaflets and generally catch up with you. Please do pop along and see us.

Plus, our Annual Autumn Event is scheduled for 18th October at the Somerset County Cricket Club. Last year saw talks by various professionals on subjects related to bowel cancer including genetics and surgery, as well as a question and answer session by our local professional team. A buffet lunch is provided where we all like to mingle with you along with our professional colleagues. There is also a market place of stalls related to various subjects. Last year saw some extremely positive feedback from attendees that we would like to build upon. Our aim is to continue to raise the profile of bowel cancer amongst the local population of Somerset, as well as working with our local health care Trust for the continuous improvement of care for patients' diagnosed with bowel cancer through our united patient voice.

If you would like to attend the annual event, please contact the team on 01823 342452  or leave a message on the answer machine including your contact details. We would be delighted to send you further details nearer the time.

Words to live by

“Life isn’t measured by the amount of time you’re here, it’s measured by your achievements”, words by Stephen Sutton, before his early death from bowel cancer.

Now, you can look at this in many ways; you could compare yourself to Stephen's great achievements which, by any standards, were amazing. You could feel daunted or, like we did, ponder on it and think that this is actually a great maxim for life in general. Achievements don't have to be big or considered too small but really about getting through life with a sense of regular satisfaction at what you have achieved. Now, for some people that may indeed be great physical feats but for others it may be just getting through the day and feeling ok. Life, after all, is not a rehearsal.

Thinking about these wise words, it made us think, actually, it is so easy to forget how joyous those simple things in life can be and our sense of achievement in seeing them, feeling them, having them and so on. Of course, it depends on you as an individual; we thought about our simple things and listed them. For each of us, as we expected, it was different, but things that we can so easily take for granted, whether we are fit or not, can mean so much.

We will not forget Stephen and, indeed, thank him for making us stop and appreciate the good things in life, however hard it may seem. Sometimes it is good to stop and sniff the roses when we are endlessly rushing along the treadmill of life. Sadly, a new diagnosis is often the first time we do this.

So, whether you are going through treatment, are newly diagnosed or indeed have come out the other end; take some time to stop and enjoy the little things in life and your achievements - they are so vital to our wellbeing and so easily lost in the rush and tumble of every day.

Food and nutrition

Trying to maintain your appetite through treatment for cancer can be a bit of a struggle at the best of times; the after effects can play havoc with your appetite too. For loved ones struggling to tempt you it can also be a difficult time. That is why it is good to have such a wealth of free information available to try and help guide both patients and carers alike.

Macmillan Cancer Support have a really good section on eating well including  some recipes for which I have attached the link;

http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Livingwithandaftercancer/Eatingwell/Eatingwell.aspx

Beating Bowel Cancer also have a very good section on diet after bowel cancer that is really worth taking a look at;

http://www.beatingbowelcancer.org/diet-and-bowel-cancer

It was whilst reveiwing various sites that we stumbled across The Chemo Cookery Club website and the free downloadable cookery book called "Around the Kitchen Table". Just click on the link at the bottom of their page that states the title of the book and you can download it.
It has testimonials from a number of leading bowel cancer teams in the U.K.and cancer charities, as well as chefs, nutritionists and many more - we have attached the link here; 

http://www.chemocookeryclub.com/

Rarely in life is anything free but this advice is perhaps one of the more important things that are; so if you or a loved one need a little help, take a quick look at some of these sites - they really do offer some very good information to help you.

Thank you....

We would like to say a HUGE thank you to the 70 plus people who attended the AGM today. What a lovely time it was and how lovely to see so many of you. It is always such a joy and a time for us to chat, catch up and generally support each other.

As we discussed at the meeting this morning, it has been a big year for the Somerset Bowel Cancer Support Group with a change of chairperson, a new patron, new logo and the inception of this blog, as well as our own T-shirts, re-usable bags and lapel pins being printed.

Our outgoing Chairperson has held a position as co-founder, committee member as well as latterly, Chairperson, for the group over a number of years. The group, and particularly committee members, are truly grateful for his commitment over the years. He was an eloquent speaker at the Annual Events and AGM, and indeed would make a particularly fine after dinner speaker should you require someone with a vast and knowledgeable wealth of experience and information on the subject of bowel problems and surgical treatments.

We were able to welcome our new chairperson who is taking over from the outgoing chair, who is very much looking forward to his three years of tenure with us.

As well as this, we heard about the opening of the new surgical build at Musgrove Park Hospital with state of the art facilities that include en suite rooms for each patient.

Once again thank you for your attendance and we look forward to seeing you at our next event.

If you were unable to make today's event or indeed would like to be added to our mailing list, then please ring 01823 342452 and speak to the team, Mon-Fri 9-5 pm or leave a message on the answer machine with your name and address; we would be delighted to send you details of further events.