The Patient Experience

In October 2009, my grandson Joseph was born, he was my first grandchild and as a family, we couldn’t have been happier. I had brought my two daughters, Lisa and Laura up as a single parent with the support of my wonderful parents and when Joseph was a week old, we took him to see my dad. We had lost my mum to heart failure in 2001 and he was all we had left.

Dad had been ill for quite some time, lethargic, lacking in appetite and losing weight steadily, our GP had sent him for numerous tests and none were conclusive. He had been diagnosed with Porphyria in 2001, a blood disease that caused all kinds of problems like fevers, profuse sweating, itching skin and other skin problems, he put all the things happening to him, down to that. Click here for more

Mesothelioma is a cancer caused almost exclusively from an exposure to asbestos, the toxic mineral that once was so prevalent in industrialized society.

Although its use in most countries has been reduced dramatically in recent decades, the World Health Organization still estimates that 125 million people are exposed each year, and 100,000 die annually from that exposure.

Throughout the 20th century, asbestos was ubiquitous in the United Kingdom, virtually woven into the fabric of modern civilization. It was incorporated into thousands of construction, commercial and household products, valued for its heat resistance, flexibility, versatility and affordability. Click here for more

In January 2012 we polled our members and readers of the blog to find out which areas they wished us to cover this year!  One of our members wanted us to look at bladder cancer especially among women – so this blog is the result!  The blog focuses on bladder cancer awareness, in particular having a closer look at the  risk factors associated with bladder cancer.

It is worth bearing in mind the early signs and symptoms of bladder cancer.  These include blood in the urine, frequent or painful urination, as well as the desire to urinate but without success. Click here for more

Being diagnosed with any type of cancer is a frightening experience, so learning from the experiences of others is invaluable.

The purpose of this blog is to help people who have been diagnosed with a cancer and who are or will be undergoing chemotherapy to understand better what to expect from the treatment.   To do this we invite anybody who has themselves or had a loved one to tell their cancer chemotherapy story to help others about to start this journey.

The principle behind chemotherapy is very simple.  It is where a medicine is used to kill cancer cells.  The medications can be delivered either as a tablet, and injection or an infusion.Click here for more