Annual Review 2013 - v28 - Nov26-13

Annual Review 2012-13
020 7924 3924
www.paulscancersupport.org.uk
Looking forward to the future
This year we have been
celebrating the Centre’s 30th
Anniversary. In 1983 there was
little support and information,
and people were mainly left to
deal with the experience of
cancer on their own.
Rachael Clyne and Roger
Potter, a young couple who were
going through the shock of
Roger's cancer diagnosis, felt
something needed to be done so
they started London’s first cancer
support group in the sitting room
of their flat in Battersea Rise.
From small beginnings…
Since then, we have developed
many new services and initiatives
as we’ve identified the unmet
needs of people with cancer and
their families.
These have included:
● widening the services on offer
at the Centre so that we can
meet the needs of different
types of people
● setting up new services for
under-represented groups like
people from black and
Centre client Lionel with Centre practitioner Pauline Withers-Born
minority ethnic groups (BME)
and housebound people
● creating booklets and reports
for much-needed areas such
as promoting the use of
massage for people with
cancer and providing
information about cancer
translated into different Asian
languages
● running innovative selfmanagement programmes,
such as the Coping with
Cancer Stress and the
Mindfulness and Cancer
courses that give people new
skills and resources to reduce
their stress and increase their
resilience
Looking to the future
As well as continuing to provide
all our current services, we have
three main priorities for the
future:
1) working closely with the local
NHS, we want to make our selfmanagement courses accessible
at various locations and times
2) we plan to explore new ways of
reaching and helping people from
BME groups
3) we want to find permanent
premises that are more accessible
and that will meet the future
needs of our services.
About the Centre
Founded in 1983, Paul’s Cancer
Support Centre is for people with
cancer, their carers and families.
Through our wide range of services,
advice and practical support, we
aim to directly improve the quality
of life and sense of wellbeing of
anyone who is, or has been,
affected by cancer.
Our aim is to help people come to
terms with the devastating effects
that a cancer diagnosis can have. We
offer a range of support including
counselling, information,
complementary therapies (such as
massage and hypnotherapy), classes,
groups, social events and selfmanagement courses.
We also work in the community
through our Home Visiting Service
for people who are housebound and
through our work with black and
minority ethnic communities.
We are open every weekday
between 10am and 6pm plus some
evenings. Our services are available
to anyone over 18, and are free of
charge.
We work closely with health
professionals and local hospitals.
Chair’s Report
raise the Centre’s profile in our
local area.
New premises
Helped by my background in
property, I have taken on the task
of getting our premises plan
turned into a prospectus and
identifying sources of support that
will enable us to purchase a
suitable property near Clapham
Junction.
François Nairac
The direction for our work this
year and for future years has
come from our excellent Away
Day in October 2012 which was
attended by Trustees, staff and
service users.
There was consensus that two
of our main priorities for 2013-14
should be to work on establishing
permanent premises that are
easily accessible to people and to
Raising our profile
We are deploying extra PR help to
raise the Centre’s profile, so that
more local people will know about
us if someone in the family gets a
cancer diagnosis.
Fundraising
Trustees have been very active
with fundraising over the last
year. Special thanks are due to
Trustee Simon Jones and also to
volunteer fundraiser Caroline
Clark.
Succession planning
Our Director, Petra Griffiths, will
be stepping down in April 2014,
so one of my most important
responsibilities is to ensure a
smooth succession to the new
Director. I have set up a working
committee of Trustees to oversee
this process.
Finally I would like to express
the Trustees’ enormous gratitude
to Petra who has brought great
creativity to her role as the
Centre’s Director over the last 21
years, resulting in the wide range
of services we offer today.
In addition, an increased
awareness of the Centre will mean
that people approached for
support are more likely to know
about us, our reputation and what
we offer.
François Nairac Chair of Trustees
Director’s Report
Our core services including a
range of therapies, one-to-one
support and specialised
information continue to be of
great importance in improving
the quality of life of our service
users. Our drop-in groups have
offered culturally sensitive
support for Asian and African &
Caribbean communities and our
structured courses have been
very successful in increasing
people’s resilience and
wellbeing.
BME work
In 2012-13 we were
fortunate to be able to carry out
action research into ways of
providing cancer information for
black and minority ethnic
communities locally. We are now
seeking funds to offer this form
of cancer awareness in the
community as a longer-term
project.
which will stand the organisation
in good stead for the future. Sad
moments here are greatly
The year ahead
outweighed by the hospitable
We will be working specifically to
atmosphere, and the commitimprove the access to support
ment that everyone has to the
and information for local men
wellbeing of our service users.
with prostate cancer, which is
It has been a great privilege
more prevalent in black men.
to work here for over 20 years.
We are pleased to have the
Petra Griffiths Director
opportunity to pilot our selfmanagement courses in different
locations in this area, and to
evaluate the outcomes. We are
very grateful to NHS Wandsworth for their backing for our
services.
Moving on
I shall be stepping down from my
role as Centre Director at Easter
2014.
There is a fantastic team of
people in place at the Centre,
Petra Griffiths
2012-13 Centre Developments
Our Self-Management Programme
We are seeing increasing
interest from health professionals in the concept of selfmanagement, which stresses the
importance of teaching skills to
reduce stress, maintain health
and develop resilience.
Our Self-Management
Programme includes both our
structured coursework
programme (Mindfulness and
Coping with Cancer Stress) and
our tailored physical activity
classes (Get Active).
Mindfulness
We were very pleased to offer
the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive
Therapy for Cancer course for
the first time in London in
January 2013. Developed and
researched by Trish Bartley at
Bangor University, the course is
specially tailored to meet the
needs of people with cancer.
We also partnered with St
George’s Hospital, Tooting to
run the course there in autumn
2013 led by Gary Born.
The course has elicited very
positive participant evaluation
and is the subject of a small
research study which will report
in 2014. Here are two comments
about the course:
“I feel happier and calmer,
more able to cope. I enjoy being
alive more and have had
moments of clarity and
brightness which show me what
is possible; being deeply happy
just existing.”
“The most revolutionary
concept for me was exercising
kindness and goodwill towards
myself. This has been the
greatest personal benefit.”
We are also offering
mindfulness training for health
professionals during 2014.
CWCS online course
Having run Levels 1 & 2 of the
Coping with Cancer Stress
(CWCS) programme three times
online, with webinars every
Wednesday evening, we decided
to change the format so that
people can follow the course
flexibly, and request mentoring
by Skype or phone at regular
intervals.
It is important for us to keep
learning and developing, in
order to ascertain which formats
work best for people whose lives
are often very disrupted by
cancer. The following quote on
the online course demonstrates
its positive impact:
“I am much happier now. I
have learned to prioritise, and to
understand what’s going on and
not let things just happen to me
– to forge my own destiny. It has
been life changing.”
Image from our Coping with Cancer Stress course brochure
New Prostate Cancer
Project
In 2012 we conducted
community-based research into
the needs of black and Asian
communities for information and
support.
One of the outcomes of this
research is a new time-limited
action research project, where we
will be working with Prostate
Cancer UK in order to test a range
of ways of addressing the absence
of appropriate information and
support. By the end of the year
we aim to be clear about what
services are most relevant to local
men affected by prostate cancer
and will seek to provide these
services in the future.
This is the first partnership
project agreed between Prostate
Cancer UK and a communitybased cancer charity (ourselves),
together with a local Clinical
Commissioning Group
(Wandsworth CCG) and a local
Cancer Centre (St. George’s
Healthcare Trust in Tooting).
Talks to NHS
Professionals
Our Director, Petra Griffiths, and
one of our mindfulness leaders,
Sud Ubayasiri, were invited to
address health professionals from
across south and north west
London at the London Cancer
Alliance (LCA) Self-Management
Forum in September. In particular
they were asked to talk about our
Self-Management courses.
We also addressed the
Wandsworth Cancer Clinical
Reference Group about our
coursework programme, which
stimulated interesting new ideas
about partnership working.
Our Coffee Mornings
Two and a half years ago, two of
our most loyal and long-standing
volunteers, Rod Winston and
Claire Morgan, came up with the
idea of running monthly coffee
mornings. They were aware from
their own experience that the
Centre lacked an informal
gathering and that sometimes
people would prefer to have
‘normal’ conversations rather
than talking about their cancer.
A slow start
However the idea didn’t catch on
immediately. On the first coffee
morning, two people came and on
the second only three. But they
still persevered and nowadays
about 15-20 people attend each
month.
The success of the coffee
mornings is down to the hard
work of both Claire and Rod. But
they get great satisfaction from
running the coffee mornings. Rod
says he enjoys introducing people
Centre volunteer Rod Winston with Centre clients Patricia and Margaret
to each other and watching them
come out of themselves. Claire
enjoys seeing people enjoy
themselves in a relaxed
atmosphere.
Here are some quotes from
attendees:
The cakes are a big draw
Another contributor to the
success of the coffee mornings is
Estelle le Galliot, whose amazing
cake-baking skills are an added
draw for everyone.
“It gets us out of the house
and we feel much better after
coming here.”
Sid’s Story
While Sid’s partner Mary had
been attending the Centre for
some time, initially he felt that
somewhere like Paul’s was not
for him.
“I have three young boys. I
hadn’t stopped to consider the
impact of Mary’s illness on them.
Having someone outside the
situation to talk to gave me a
He did decide to find out what vantage point, a perspective on
the situation. I realised I don’t
was on offer and, as soon as he
need to worry about coping
arrived at the Centre, someone
perfectly with adversity. We will
offered him a cup of tea. He
pull through.
thought to himself that he was
“I had shiatsu massage at the
usually the one doing the giving,
Centre to help relieve my feeling
but then realised that he hadn’t
of stress and I am now in a much
stopped since Mary had been
better place; a lot more laid back.
diagnosed.
The questions I was asked about
“I felt as though an arm had
myself were very considerate, not
gone round my shoulders, and a
regimented. A journey emerged
burden was lifted from me. The
from the experience in
Centre is a marvellous oasis, full
unexpected ways. A door opened
of calm and consideration.
for me.”
“If you are feeling a bit low,
they will come and speak to you
and bring you out of your shell.”
“You don’t just talk about
cancer – we talk about anything
under the sun!”
Time for You Days
We run these days twice a
year. They allow people to
enjoy new activities such as
song, dance and creative art,
while getting to know other
service users. We particularly
invite people to bring family
members, so this is a chance
for carers to experience what
we have to offer.
At the Dance class
Home Visiting Case Study
This case study shows how
reflexology can help with some of
the side effects of cancer and its
treatments.
Janet, a 52 year old woman,
was diagnosed in 2011 with
uterine cancer. Initial treatment
needed to be followed by further
radiotherapy as well as spinal
surgery and chemotherapy.
Earlier this year she was
referred to the Home Visiting
Service by Trinity Hospice as she
could no longer attend their day
centre because she felt too
exhausted to travel.
Janet’s situation
She lived at home with her
husband and, while her family
were supportive, they all lived a
distance from London. Janet
described herself as isolated and
lonely, and struggling to adapt to
the huge changes in her life.
One of the common side
effects of chemotherapy and
Some of our new 2013 Home Visiting volunteers
radiotherapy is loss of appetite,
and, if people aren’t eating
enough, it can have a knock-on
impact on their physical strength.
Home visits
On discovering that Janet was
suffering a loss of appetite, the
Home Visiting reflexologist
worked on her gastro-intestinal
reflexes. At the end of the session
Janet announced she felt hungry.
At her following session, Janet
reported that she had been eating
well since the first session. At the
3�� treatment, she was still eating
well and had managed to wean
herself off the laxatives she’d
needed to use. Janet had also
managed a short walk with her
sister.
The sessions continue
The reflexologist continued to see
Janet, during which time she
deteriorated as the cancer spread,
with no further medical treatment
possible. Janet became confined
to bed but continued to enjoy her
reflexology sessions, and although
she had little appetite since
becoming bed bound, each
reflexology treatment would
increase her appetite. They also
made a big difference to her
morale.
Work with Black and Minority Ethnic Communities
It has long been a priority for the
Centre to work with people from
black and minority ethnic (BME)
communities given the research
findings that people in these
communities often:
● receive a later diagnosis
● lack basic knowledge about
cancer and its signs &
symptoms
● don’t access the support that
is available
● experience a cultural stigma
around cancer.
Action research project
Following our 2012 study into
the cancer information and
support needs of local BME
communities, we did an action
research project in 2012-13 to
test the effectiveness of working
with local community groups to
reach Asian and black community
members with information about
cancer and the support available.
The project helped over 600
members of BME communities.
However we encountered
obstacles as many of the groups
we wanted to work with were
either having resource issues or
had disbanded altogether.
The difficulties these
community groups face means
that it is critically important to
find effective ways of offering
cancer awareness support to BME
communities.
Taking the outreach work
forward
This year we are focusing on one
important aspect of underprovision for the black
community – aiming to improve
the information and support
available in this area to men
with prostate cancer, a
disproportionate number of
whom are African and Caribbean
(see the item on p. 3).
We are also currently
seeking sources of funding to
enable us to carry out outreach
work with BME communities
over a longer time scale, taking
into account what we’ve learnt
so far.
Centre Statistics 2012-13
The number of one-to-one
therapies delivered over the year
was just over 2,000. In addition,
our clients continue to receive
informal support from our
Support Officers or volunteers,
which is a very important aspect
of what we offer.
Community & educational stats
Thanks to local Public Health
action research grants, we were
able to offer cancer awareness in
the community to over 1,000
people. We also offered
educational sessions and training
to over 500 people, involving
practitioners, volunteers, Centre
Other service statistics
clients and health professionals.
Our Information Service and
benefits advice service offered
Telephone support &
website audios
circa 400 sessions this year.
Attendances at our drop-in groups There were again this year fewer
and structured courses grew in
users of our telephone support
the last year to over 600 for
line (down by 20% from circa
groups and nearly 500 for courses. 4,000 in 2011/12 to 3,000 in
Home visits to those unable to 2012/13), resulting from the
increased number of national
come in to the Centre increased
cancer helplines and more informto 374. Social events also
ation being available online.
attracted more people,
particularly the popular coffee
However this has been more
mornings (see p. 4).
than counterbalanced by the
downloads of our relaxation and
stress control audios (more than
"I feel I have come a very long
3,500 downloads). People can
way in such a short time. It
make use of these free resources
normally takes me longer to
at any time when feeling anxious
feel so comfortable and
or overwhelmed, and be helped
relaxed in my surroundings,
to gain more peace of mind.
but coming here took no time
Volunteering
at all to feel relaxed. It has
In 2012-13, a total of 7,060
been a tremendous help and
volunteer hours were given to the
hypnotherapy has opened up a
Centre, which is a big increase
new and powerful way of
over the previous year due in part
thinking."
to two very successful fundraising
events involving significant
Centre client
volunteer input.
Volunteering by therapy
practitioners and ‘meeters and
greeters’ at the Centre (about
5,000 hours) is at a similar level to
the previous year, while
volunteering hours by Home
Visiting volunteers has increased
owing to the gradual build-up of
the service.
Ethnic breakdown
In 2012-13, the ethnic breakdown
of our service users (where
known) was:
White 68%; Asian 13%; Black
16%; Mixed 1%; and Other 2%.
The proportion of our users
from BME communities continues
to be higher than the average
among the local population in
Wandsworth and is a positive
reflection on our outreach work
and on the work of our Asian and
African & Caribbean Support
Groups.
Gender breakdown
The proportion of men among our
users continues to be much lower
than we would like at 21%,
despite having some excellent
male practitioners and staff
among our team. We hope that
our prostate cancer action
research project will help to build
up the number of male users of
our services.
For detailed statistics, please go to
paulscancersupport.org.uk/statistics.
New Patron
Mr Nicholas Hyde
We are very pleased that Mr
Nicholas Hyde has agreed to
become a Patron of Paul’s. Nick
Hyde is a consultant maxillofacial/
head & neck surgeon at St.
George’s Hospital and is one of
two Clinical Directors for Cancer
Services there. He has also
recently been appointed as
Clinical Director for the London
Cancer Alliance.
Having Nick on board as a
Patron will further develop the
working partnership that has
been established between Paul’s
and St. George’s Hospital,
Tooting, and we are delighted to
welcome him as a Patron.
Thank You
supported our 2012 Big Give
appeal. The funds raised through
the appeal were used to upgrade
the Centre’s client areas and to
install much-needed blinds.
We are also grateful to the
Royal Albert Hall for continuing
their support through a series of
Support for services
collections at their Christmas
We provided nearly 3,000 support
2012 concerts, and to everyone
sessions through our Cancer
who raised funds for us through
Wellbeing programme, thanks to
the British 10K and other
continued funding from the City
sponsored events.
Bridge Trust and other generous
trusts.
30th Anniversary fundraising
In our 30th year, a series of high
Donations from the Eranda
profile events made a huge
Foundation and the Persula
contribution to our work.
Foundation enabled our Home
The year started with Art
Visiting team to make 370 visits to
Alliance IV, an art auction
100 people across London who
organised and led by Caroline
were housebound and seriously
Clark and her fantastic team of
ill.
volunteers, which raised £48,800
The John Armitage Trust and
the Fairstead Trust also continued for Paul’s.
A series of sell-out
their very generous support,
which, together with funding from performances of the play
Judgment at Nuremberg were
NHS Wandsworth, enabled us to
staged at the Bridewell Theatre in
provide vital services for our
the City. The actors, director and
clients including our groups,
production team donated their
courses, cancer information and
time and talents, and the event,
advice services.
which raised nearly £20,000, was
Individual contributions are
also incredibly important and we the brainchild of our Trustee,
would like to thank everyone who Simon Jones.
Paul’s relies on donations for all
its work. With the generous
support of our donors we were
able to offer services to 2,000
people affected by cancer in
2012-13, 25% more than in the
previous year.
Simon Jones at the Golf Day
Simon was also the moving force
behind a sell-out charity golf day
at the prestigious Royal
Wimbledon Golf Club. Thanks to
the generosity of the RWGC, the
teams who participated and, not
least, an anonymous donor who
matched the day’s profits, the
event raised a remarkable
£38,000.
Ways of supporting Paul’s
Please help us if you can, by
● making a one-off gift, by
phone, by post or online
● pledging a regular
contribution to our work
● leaving a gift to Paul’s in
your will
Please contact Debbie in the
fundraising team on 020 7801
2965 for more information
about how to donate.
The Impact of Our Services
“Paul’s is my anchor. After the
tension and stress of cancer
treatment, it’s a tremendous
shock when it’s all over and
you’re not sure what to do.
Being connected to Paul’s, I just
feel the love, warmth and
support.”
“I cannot thank you enough for
the time you have given me.
Words cannot describe how
much I have benefited from this
counselling. Clearly it was just
what I needed.”
“As the weeks progressed, the
Centre relieved me of years of
deeply rooted stress and pain. I
feel empowered through this
experience to cope with what
the future is for me.”
Massage at a Time for You Day
“My pain has decreased and my
sleep has much improved. Thank
you very much.”
“Before the therapy here, I was
very lonely, sad, anxious and
stressful. I would not go out
beside hospital appointments.
Now I am very happy and I enjoy
coming here. The Centre staff
are very caring.”
How we spend the money we raise
Cancer Wellbeing (support, therapies & groups)
President
£142,416
Cancer Awareness & BME support
£86,772
Home Visiting Service
£76,694
Macmillan Information Officer
£25,000
Wellbeing educational courses
£4,752
Groupwork programme
£18,336
Time for You
£1,188
Equipment
£1,346
Governance costs
£7,604
Cost of generating funds
£108,703
Total
£472,811
Where our money comes from
Grants (inc NHS Wandsworth and Macmillan Cancer Support)
£149,506
Donations and legacies
£105,246
Trusts and companies
£126,037
Investment income
£1,754
Other income
£114,487
Total
£497,030
Professor Karol Sikora
Patrons
Carolyn Faulder
Mr Nicholas Hyde
Dr Stanley Jacobs
Geraldine James OBE
Lady Macmillan
Jane Nairac
Lord Gus O’Donnell
Geraldine Ogilvy
Trustees
François Nairac (Chair)
Eleanor Steele (Vice Chair)
Sarah Wilton (Vice Chair)
John Morgan (Treasurer)
Dani Banerjee
Tim Clark
Angela Griffiths
Stephanie Jacobs
Simon Jones
Elizabeth Lloyd-Dehler
Verite Reily-Collins
Gillian Sandham
Advisers to the Trustees
Claire Morgan (User involvement)
Dr Penny Osborne (GP)
Pat Webb (Academic)
Director
Petra Griffiths
A copy of the audited accounts can be downloaded from
www.paulscancersupport.org.uk/accounts.
Services Offered
1-to-1 therapies &
support
Groups, courses &
classes
Counselling
Healing
Hypnotherapy
Life coaching
Massage
Meditation
Reflexology
Reiki
Relaxation & visualisation
Shiatsu
Stress management
African and Caribbean
support group
Asian support group
Coping with Cancer Stress
course
Creativity group
Get Active class
Meditation class
Mindfulness course
Yoga class
Community
Social
Home Visiting Service
Varying outreach services
Social morning
Time for You events
Information
Online
Macmillan Information
Service
Macmillan CAB
benefits advice
Coping with Cancer
Stress online course
Relaxation mp3
downloads
Paul's Cancer Support Centre
20 - 22 York Road, London SW11 3QA
www.paulscancersupport.org.uk | [email protected]
Reg. Charity Number: 1128295 | Company Limited by Guarantee Number: 06802920
Thanks to Debbie Fricker of Ocadillo for the photographs on pages 1 and 7, and to Caroline Clark for the photographs on pages 2 and 7.