Health charity, Walk the Walk, has awarded national cancer charity, Cancer Support UK, a £48,941 grant.
The funding will allow Cancer Support UK to provide increased practical and emotional support to people living with and beyond cancer.
Walk the Walk is best known as the organiser of the iconic MoonWalk London, when thousands of women and men walk overnight marathons through the city’s streets, wearing decorated bras or colourful bra t-shirts.
Thanks to Walk the Walk’s award, Cancer Support UK will be able to produce and deliver 750 Cancer Kits and provide 150 Cancer Coach support programme places for people living with and beyond breast cancer, who are struggling with anxiety and mental health issues.
Additionally, the money will enable the training of two Cancer Support UK volunteer facilitators to help deliver the Cancer Coach programme.
Through its Cancer Kits and Cancer Coach services, Cancer Support UK aims to:
- Reduce isolation
- Reduce loneliness
- Improve mental wellbeing
- Ease the financial burden of buying essential items that are needed during treatment
- Create volunteer opportunities
Commenting on the award, Mark Guymer, CEO of Cancer Support UK said: “We are extremely grateful to Walk the Walk for this generous grant. As a small charity we receive no government support â our income is entirely made up of donations, gifts and grants, which are all vital in keeping our services running.
“Our Cancer Kits are designed to provide relief to cancer patients during their gruelling treatment journey. Recipients tell us that the kits mean a great deal to them, making them feel less alone, offering comfort and practical relief from the pain and discomfort of treatment.
“A cancer diagnosis can be life changing, but going into remission can be equally difficult to navigate. Our Cancer Coach programme gives people who have completed cancer treatment, the tools to support better mental health when moving into life beyond cancer.
Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk, said:
“I’m delighted to share that Walk the Walk have awarded a grant to Cancer Support UK, funding 750 Cancer Kits and 150 Cancer Coach support programmes places. I know from my own experience how frightening and isolating a breast cancer diagnosis can be â the work which Cancer Support UK is doing to help support cancer patients through an incredibly difficult time really is life-changing. Working together, our charities can make such a huge difference to so many people.
Grants like this one to Cancer Support UK are very exciting news for Walk the Walk’s wonderful fundraisers â I cannot thank these fantastic people enough! Sign up now for our flagship overnight fundraising challenge The MoonWalk London on Saturday 18 May. It’s an incredible, fun-filled fiesta of a night, bringing many people together, putting one front in front of the other and achieving a personal goal, whilst helping others. Come and see for yourself, it is breath-taking!”
Cancer Support UK Kidsâ Kit story â Reid
(Reid is being treated at Noahâs Ark Childrenâs Hospital at University Hospital Wales)
Five-year-old Reid, from Pontypridd, Wales, was playing in the park in August 2023 when he first felt a pain that led to his diagnosis. He had rolled down a bank and hurt his stomach so badly, he was in tears.
The next day, he was in much more pain and his parents, Alison and Mark, rang the surgery. The GP told them to take little Reid to hospital in case he needed a scan. Following a series of tests, it was revealed that Reid had Wilms tumour, a form of cancer that affects the kidneys.
It was devastating news, made worse by the knowledge that Reidâs cancer was on both kidneys. Had Reid not rolled down the bank and damaged the tumours causing them to bleed, the hospital might not have discovered the cancer till much later, as itâs asymptomatic.
Reid is a comical little boy who makes his family and friends laugh. Heâs also active, and loves nothing better than riding his bike, climbing trees and playing with the familyâs four dachshunds. Heâs a big fan of WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), which he enjoys watching on television. Reid has three siblings â Thalia (27), Rio (13) and Esmee (9).
Since his diagnosis, life has changed beyond recognition. At first, Reid battled high temperatures caused by an infection from the internal bleeding. Then he went through six weeks of chemotherapy, to shrink the tumours, so that he could undergo an operation to remove whatâs left of them, and retain some kidney function.
Being in hospital so much has been hugely upsetting for this little boy, who becomes scared every time the nurses approach him as he suspects a dose of medicine is sure to follow.
The chemo left Reid tired, sick and distressed. So when he received his Kidsâ Cancer Kit, it put a huge smile on his face. He loves the warmable bunny, but adores the yellow Minion socks, which he wears all the time because he gets very cold feet, having lost a lot of weight due to the chemotherapy.
Reid has now had his left kidney removed and the good news is that they were able to save 95% of his right kidney, which is a better outcome than Alison had expected. He is currently now undergoing a further 27 weeks of chemotherapy.
Alison urges any parent in her position to remain positive and to be aware that thereâs lots of support out there.
About Cancer Support UKâs Kidsâ Kit
Cancer Support UK developed its Kidâs Kit specifically for children to use in hospital while being treated for cancer. The Kidâs Kit is sent free of charge and contains toys, socks, a warmable ted and other items to help support the child while they are in hospital. We know from parental/child feedback that our Kidâs Kit gives children a huge emotional boost at a time when they need it most.
www.cancersupportuk.org/cancer-kits/kids-kit/
âCancer Coach changed my life for the better.â â Samâs Cancer Coach story and cancer journey
Cancer Coach provided a lifeline to Sam when she needed it most. When her cancer treatment finished, everyone expected Sam to return to her old self, but inside she felt acutely lonely and an emotional wreck. As the COVID pandemic was still raging, she had to remain indoors, as her immune system was severely weakened, so her isolation was further exacerbated. Cancer Coachâs remote peer support groups made a big difference to Sam â knowing that there were other people who all felt the same way and who had experienced cancer, boosted her emotionally.
Samâs cancer experience began in 2019 when she was diagnosed in October with triple negative breast cancer. She was just 46 years old.
âThey told me it was quite a rare and aggressive cancer, but said I would be ok,â Sam recalls. âMy world fell apart hearing just the word cancer.
âIt all started when I found a tiny lump in my breast. I saw my GP, who didnât think it was anything to worry about.
âI had a mammogram and ultrasound, and a core needle test. When I received the news that I had cancer, I thought I was going to die. I literally saw it as a death sentence.
âEveryone in the office was so nice to me about my diagnosis, which made me feel even worse. In comparison, my family gave me very little support, although my sister did come to the hospital.
âThe surgeon said that because the lump was only a couple of centimetres in size, they were going to do a lumpectomy.
The results came through in November. The surgeon confirmed that although the surgery had eliminated the original cancer site, 1mm had spread into Samâs lymph nodes. So starting in December 2019 she began a year of treatment, which included chemotherapy, followed by radiotherapy and then oral chemo therapy.
âI didnât find the treatment too hard. The main side effects were fatigue and an awful furry feeling in my mouth â everything I ate tasted like carpet. Although I wasnât able to do much physical activity, I did manage to work a few hours a day, which helped keep me sane and my mind working.
Emotionally, however, Sam struggled to keep afloat, particularly as she lives alone. Nobody could visit her because of COVID and the only time she left the house was for hospital appointments. Her neighbours proved a lifeline, checking to see that she was alright and taking her to appointments. A friend and a work colleague both supported her.
âI tried to keep a smile on my face and to stay positive, but inwardly I was crying, which bothered me. It was horrible feeling so lonely. I had an elderly dog, but he was ill. He lasted until my chemo finished â I think he knew I needed him.
âEveryone expects you to get on with it and to be like you were before cancer, but chemo had sent me into menopause, so I had chemo brain and menopause brain. I didnât want to keep phoning my kind neighbour or my friend who had experienced breast cancer.
âIn the end things got so bad that I called my GP. I was referred to Isabel Hospice, who offered me a wellbeing visit and to go in weekly for reflexology and acupuncture. This did made me feel better. I also used Breast Cancer Care, which put me in touch with someone with a similar diagnosis.
âI first learnt about Cancer Support UK and Cancer Coach when I ordered a Cancer Kit. The leaflet mentioned how when youâve finished treatment everyone thinks you go back to normal, and how you still feel alone once treatment finishes, even though you have people around you. Thatâs why, at the end of 2020, I signed up for Cancer Coach.
âIt was so good to be part of a small group of people, all feeling the same way, yet different. It was great to be able to talk to each other and to share tips and ideas in the group. The coach was really nice, too.
âI learnt how to keep a worry diary and to set aside an hour per week when I would allow myself to worry about things. Then spend the rest of the time trying to think positively. We were given tools to deal with our emotions and learnt that itâs ok to feel different after cancer. We also learnt to accept the new normal.
âI found it really upsetting that people expected me to be the same. It really got to me that people couldnât see what was wrong with me. They would say there is no excuse for you to feel ill, you look alright, so why arenât you alright?
âAt the end of the six-week programme, we all wanted to stay in touch with each other. We kept our weekly Zoom sessions every Monday and now weâre all on Whats App. Without that continuity it would have been very hard. Itâs amazing that I still have these other people in my life, even though itâs four years ago since we met. Nowadays we donât talk about our cancer treatment, instead we discuss the future. The only cancer topic that gets mentioned is the cancer checks, which we all still worry about.
âItâs so good to have these people in my life â your charity has been such a help. If it wasnât for Cancer Coach, I wouldnât have met these ladies and I wouldnât have understood my feelings and found ways to move forwards with my life.
âI would definitely recommend that people sign up for Cancer Coach. It changes your life.
Cancer Coach peer support groups are run by Cancer Support UK for people with a previous primary cancer diagnosis, who have finished their cancer treatment and need someone to speak to. The groups are split into weekly sessions over six weeks and are carried out free of charge by telephone or over a video call. Each group is facilitated by an experienced Cancer Coach who leads the group, offers support and structures the conversation.
Cancer Coach is for anyone over the age of 18 who has completed treatment for cancer, regardless of whether they finished treatment a few months ago or a few years ago. Apply to join a Cancer Coach support group online now.
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