Our next meeting is scheduled for Wed 7th June at the usual venue: Royal British Legion, Longton. On this occasion, one of our Speech and Language Specialists, Julie will be giving a talk on this important subject.

Treatment for Head and Neck cancer often results in long-term difficulties with speech and swallowing but there are several ways these problems can be helped. SLTs form a part of the Multi-Disciplinary Team who meet regularly behind the scenes to plan your treatment and aftercare.

We look forward to hearing what Julie has to say, and in the meantime here’s a link to the NHS site for the Royal Stoke and County hospitals. Once on the page, scroll down to the box called “Head and Neck and Thyroid Cancer”. Clicking there, then scrolling down will access a detailed page including video introductions to the various specialities, including SLT.

There are contact details for several other groups on the page as well.

Here’s the link:

Look forward to seeing you all in June…

Follow @headcases2

This group is an NHS supported activity that aims to provide support for those of us living with anxiety about recurrence of cancer after treatment. This type of anxiety is extremely common, and can affect our ability to live in the moment and get the best out of life.

Our specialist nurse, Jacqueline Miller has been enquiring about the possibility of having a visit to Headcases by the group, but unfortunately the logistics won’t allow it.

I would ask the group how they feel about getting together to visit the Bennett Centre in Hanley during office hours to attend a talk on this? It is hoped this would be sometime July 23 onwards. Please have a think, and let me know at the next meeting in June. Bear in mind that the room at the centre is quite small, so a maximum of 6-8 people would be able to attend.

Follow @headcases2

Around 18 of us were pleased to welcome back Diane Leopard who gave us a photographic presentation and talk about the emotional impacts of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Diane began her photographic career when she won a camera in a competition. Her talk is a very personal illustration of her own journey, told through a large collection of photographs.

Each picture is used to illustrate a particular aspect of the journey, and it was very interesting to see the power of this when looking around the room at the faces of our friends. Certain photos struck a chord with different individuals in a way that words alone cannot. It was a powerful presentation, and sparked quite a long discussion within the group afterwards. Our thanks to Diane for giving up her time to share this with us all.

Diane has also penned a poem, published on this site titled: “YOU” which can be accessed via the site menu.

There is an earlier post including a link for those wishing to know a little more about Diane and her work in this field.

Follow @headcases2