Second Chance Head and Neck Cancer Group

We were very lucky that Anne was able to join us as our last speaker of 2023. The session was interactive and was fascinating as Anne covered some of the changes and advances in treatment approaches over the last 20 years. She talked us through some of the latest developments including immunotherapy and the RSCH plans for the future. We were very grateful to her for taking time out of her busy schedule.

A big thank you to Joanne Ansell for attending our  Thursday afternoon coffee meeting at Shalford Village  Hall.  Good advice was given as to the best exercise routines to follow, before and after surgery / radiotherapy treatment. These included keeping as active as possible before surgery and doing deep diaphragmatic breathing exercises. The members were able to put forward their queries to Joanne over a cuppa away from a busy clinic environment. She also suggested what to pack in your hospital bag which included loose clothing, ear plugs and eye mask. She explained that as they like to get you moving asap after surgery make sure to take some footwear that you can fasten e.g. Velcro slippers or trainers, they are great as they can be adjusted if your feet swell. Her time was most appreciated by all present.
We now have Physiotherapy Exercise Information sheets available on request by email and they will be on display at our next meeting for those who would like one.Joanne has kindly marked the four most important exercises to assist you in gaining a healthy recovery.

Best wishes to all and our next speaker will be 
Anne Hope 16 th November.

Don’t forget to get in touch: info@headandneckcancer.life

We were delighted to have met so many people at this very busy open day. Our stall at this event enabled us to network with health care professionals, service users and students interested in work experience. Our apologies to one young man as we don’t have many work experience opportunities for Spider-Man…but for any one else drop us a line: info@headandneckcancer.life

We had an interesting and informative visit on Saturday 9/09/23 with a guided tour of the house. We then visited the Art Gallery  and viewed the sculptures . 
The Victorian Virtual Reality  exhibition is dedicated to stereoscopy and the  largest display of original items from the Brian May Archive. Great fun looking at all the images.
We then enjoyed afternoon tea and a chat together in the gardens on the hottest day of the year!

Following on from the announcement that BeaverbrooksJewellers had adopted us as a nominated charity to officially support, we can report that on Wednesday 6^th September committee members were invited to the store in the Friary Centre to receive a donation. We were thrilled to receive a cheque for £1,800.

We would like to express our gratitude to Maxine Hill and all her staff at the Friary Centre store together with Beaverbrooksgenerally for their support.

This money will make a huge difference and will be used to help fund organised trips and the continued hiring of ShalfordVillage Hall for our meetings with talks, conversation and afternoon tea.

Royal Surrey Hospital Social Club 21/09/23 at 14.00-15.00

Please come and join us for our AGM followed by refreshments.

The meeting will briefly cover areas that are mandatory for Charities including a financial report a review of the past year and election of officers.
Also there will be an opportunity to meet with Dr Mandeep Bajwa who is leading a research forum looking at patient reported outcomes as well as patient and carer involvement in head and neck cancer services. The project is supported by the Royal Surrey County Hospital and the University of Surrey.

This was a popular trip to the famous vineyard near Dorking Surrey. It is one of England’s largest single estate vineyards so we were glad that we chose to tour the 265 acres by train. The tour was both enjoyable and informative with marvellous views.

The Second Chance Charity were invited to attend this event. The collection raised £69 . Thank you to all who contributed and to Katie, Lila and Charlie for their assistance.
This money will fund our next outing  for members to Denbies Vineyard .
Best wishes to all, 
Sandra Levinge (Chair)

A Specialist Head & Neck  Speech and  Language Therapist Tracie Mansell gave a very informative talk today in tropical heat weather conditions! Tracie updated us on the latest developments in Laryngectomy treatment and care. There were various products on display for  helping with trismus and dry mouth which were some of the topics discussed.
The talk concluded with a very helpful question and answer session.
Thank you also to Allan for the delicious coffee cake enjoyed by all.

Blasting nutritional myths ….

We had a very enjoyable session with Claire Hanika Advanced dietitian, Head and Neck Oncology from The Macmillan Aftercare and Rehabilitation Service based at the Royal Surrey Hospital on 18/05/23.

Claire led us through the myths and facts associated with healthy eating. Who knew drinking Ribena helps with iron absorption and drinking Coca Cola can increase cholesterol and Diet Coke can reduce cholesterol ? We were delighted to hear a small amount of 70% dark chocolate can be good for you. We had plenty of tea and homemade cake available …. luckily Claire didn’t put us off the delicious home made Victoria Sponge.

Thanks to Claire for taking time out of her busy schedule to share her knowledge.

you can find copies of Claire’s presentation in the resources section on this website. Apologies for the quality …….hopefully we will be able to revive our scanner soon……

I would like to thank Derek Carpenter and the team at Farnham Castle for the warm welcome we received on arrival.

The guides who took us round the Bishops Palace and Castle were very informative and brought to life the fascinating history behind the site. Everyone agreed the tour was a great success.

The group then went on to the Farnham Park café. A friendly and efficient staff served us with tea and coffee and delicious cakes. A perfect ending to the day!

If you would like to visit the Bishop’s Palace and Castle Keep we would certainly recommend a tour with one of the volunteer guides.

These are available every Wednesday afternoon 2-4pm at a cost of £5. There is no need to book but they recommend that you check the website for tour availability just in case:

https//www.farnham-castle.com

or call the Head Palace Guide : 01252 714674

Farnham Castle, Castle Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 0AG

At our last drop in session at Shalford Village Hall we were joined by Sonia Rahim and Becky Field from Atos. A big thanks to them for refreshments as well as our superb resident cake maker ( a superb lemon drizzle).‘Sonia and Becky first told us about the role of the best start and field nurses. When a patient is registered with Atos by their speech and language therapist they are offered the opportunity to trouble shoot any problems that might occur in the early days with a best start nurse. Typically they could be helping with stoma care, base plates, voicing with valves or using an electrolarynx. If necessary the Atos nurse can contact the relevant health care professionals on the patient’s behalf. In addition patients registered with Atos will have access to a nurse for as long as they need. They gave us a really helpful opportunity to discuss travelling safely this summer. Atos also have online support in the form of online coffee mornings, webinars and my life events.

There is an online Coffee and Conversation session on 25/05/23 at 10 am. Also there are other online sessions:

15/06/23 2-3pm about A guide to travelling safely this summer. The session for tracheostomy is on 13/06/23 2-3pm

29/06/23 2-3pm an online workshop for improving taste and smell

for more information:

Upcoming Events & Webinars

Get in touch with Atos:

0753 741 7928

or email: events.uk@atosmedical.com

Some members met at Garson’s Farm on the 22/03/2023 for a chat plus optional tea and cake.

Tai Chi Class at Shalford Village Hall 16/03/23

A special thank you to Mr. Robin Sheldrake for instructing our class. We learned how Tai Chi, as an ancient oriental art can, over time, help revitalise mind, body and spirit.

This moderate form of exercise can help to improve flexibility, reduce muscle pain and improve circulation and balance. Everyone present thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learning something new.

We would like to thank Steve for his well presented talk. He shared his personal story from his diagnosis to his laryngectomy operation.

 He then discussed aftercare of  his laryngectomy tube and skin care of his neck.

There followed an interesting discussion where people could exchange tips and express their views and experiences.

 We concluded the meeting on a very positive note, as we tucked into Allan’s homemade totally delicious cheese biscuits!

Dear Members,

As some of you may be aware, Margaret Faultless stepped down as Chair at our recent AGM. Those present expressed their gratitude for all she had achieved over many years, having been one of the founder members of the Charity. Fortunately she has agreed to continue as a Committee member.

As the new Chair, I look forward to working with other Committee members to continue our commitment to provide both support and social functions that I hope will be of interest to all.

Best Wishes, Sandra Levinge   

Coming soon……

February 16th Shalford Village Hall Meeting at 3pm

Mr Charles Coffils and Mr. Stephen Rainbird have kindly agreed to  give a talk on ,

Practical self-help tips for Laryngectomy

March 22nd  Garson Farm Café, Winterdown Road, Esher KT10 8LS

An invitation to join us for cake and coffee and have a wander around  this lovely centre afterwards.

Meet Margaret at the main entrance at 2.30pm.

We are also planning to visit in April, The Bishops Palace at Farnham Castle, this will be a guided tour.

In July we will be having a Garden Party. Dates for these  events will be posted once confirmed

We would like to thank Jackie Whiteley the Oralieve representative for attending our Shalford Village Hall meeting on the 19th January. 

It was a very interesting talk discussing dry mouth problems following treatment. Members were able to raise their individual issues and receive some good advice. Free samples and instruction literature was available to distribute throughout the group.

( Jackie was generous and left us with some resources and testers so that we will be able to display leaflets and samples at the next meeting).
For more information:

https://www.oralieve-direct.co.uk/

This year’s Christmas Party was a great success.

The event was well attended by both members and members of staff. It was lovely to see everyone together again. Music was provided by Charlie and Jorge and a buffet by Committee members. There was a visit from Father Christmas and all in all a very festive atmosphere.

Many thanks to those who generously donated prizes for the raffle and to those who bought tickets. We managed to raise £150 on the night which will help to fund some of next year’s events.

Also, a special thank you to the Royal Surrey Social Club manager, John, for his help.

The Committee would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone the compliments of the Season and a very Happy New Year. 

Some of you may already be aware that Boots the chemist and Macmillan are now working closely together. Some branches now have Macmillan information pharmacists who have had extra training from McMillan that covers more than offering advice to people with queries about their medication and side effects. They are able to signpost you to services and discuss ways to keep yourself healthy. If you do not want to go into a store you can book a video consultation. For more information:

https://www.boots.com/macmillan

I went into a branch to talk to one of the Macmillan beauty advisors who have received additional training from Macmillan to help people with beauty advice that may help you feel better about some of the physical side effects of cancer treatment. From changes in skin tone and texture to help to redefine brows and lashes they can offer you a free consultation at selected No 7 counters in Guildford, Farnham, Camberley and Staines. For more information:

https://www.boots.com/macmillan/feelmorelikeyou

Charity members joined forces with the St Pius Badminton Group and enjoyed a night out at the pantomime. This was a thoroughly enjoyable show. We all came away feeling we would sleep better knowing the giant had no interest in eating Jack, or anyone else for that matter, as he was a vegetarian. It warmed our hearts that he was also a Botanist and supporter of green issues!

Christmas sweets for the Staff at The Royal Surrey County Hospital

On 6^th December a delivery of Christmas sweets was made on behalf of the Charity to thank Royal Surrey County Hospital staff in departments connected to our members. This included the Head and Neck Outpatients Clinic, the MaxFac OPD Clinic, Clandon Ward, Radiotherapy Department and ENT Theatres. This gesture appeared gratefully received.  

We attended their School Christmas Fair 3^rdDecember 2022

We are grateful to Dr Katie Wood who managed to arrange for us to collect voluntary contributions at the door for the benefit of our Charity.

Dr Wood and her daughters together with Charlie and Sandra were there to shake buckets at the entrance for the duration of the fair. With the generosity of those attending we were able to raise funds in excess of £500.00. This was a magnificent effort and many thanks to all those involved.