Level 1 – Coping with Cancer Stress

Getting a cancer diagnosis can be a very difficult experience that affects people in many ways. This may include anxiety and depression through to fatigue and other forms of distress.

However there is much you can do to reduce the stress of cancer and improve your quality of life. Our Coping with Cancer Stress course will teach you some effective and easy-to-learn techniques that you can carry on using after the end of the course to feel more in control of your life.

Among the topics covered on the course are:

• how self-help activities can make you feel more in control of your life
• how to feel less helpless and scared
• how to recognise sources of stress and deal with them
• how to develop feelings of deep relaxation in your body
• how to stop anxious thoughts from taking over your mind
• how imagery can help you to influence your life and health
• the importance of seeking support from your friends and family
• how to decide what your priorities really are
• what the ‘Healing Journey’ path is and where it leads.

How the course works

Each week, the course leaders will give presentations on the key ideas and then there will be an opportunity to try out some of the techniques.

Everyone will have a chance to ask questions and to discuss the topics during the sessions. Each week, there are exercises to practise at home using the CD’s (see below).

If you haven’t been to a cancer group before, there’s nothing to worry about. The course is held in a safe, friendly and welcoming environment and there is no pressure on anyone to talk about their experiences if they would prefer not to. Everything said at the sessions is kept confidential.

Who is the course for?

The course is for anyone who has or has had cancer and who would like to reduce the stress they are feeling. We also encourage partners or other family members or supporters to attend the course.

This is not only so only so they can provide support to the person with cancer but also so they can learn to deal with their own stress.

CDs

Everyone who comes on the course will be given two CD’s, which include the course exercises to practise at home. We find that the people who get the most benefit from the course are those who carry on practising outside the sessions.

The Healing Journey Programme

The Coping with Cancer Stress course is Level 1 of the 5-level Healing Journey Programme. The introductory course will teach you some very useful skills for dealing with stress. You can then deepen and extend them on the Level 2 course Developing Your Self Care Skills, which normally starts soon after the end of Level 1.

The Healing Journey Programme has been developed in Toronto by the psychologist Dr Alastair Cunningham. For many years he was a senior scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, and is professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. He has received various awards for his work on helping cancer patients, including being made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and being awarded the First Rogers’ prize for ‘Excellence in Complementary Medicine’.

The impact of the programme has been researched over 25 years, and shown to be very effective in increasing quality of life.

The next course will take place on 13th, 20th, 27th September & 4th October 2011 from 6.30pm-8.30pm at Paul’s Cancer Support Centre in Clapham, London.

Click here to book on the course.