Can you support the Hunts Community Cancer Network?

The HCCN nursing and charity team try to ensure what they deliver can be experienced by everyone who needs it.

They make what they offer free of charge to anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis; going through treatment, and/or recovering from or living with cancer. 

The service is available to those over the age of 18, and living in Huntingdonshire.

It is their aim to try and fill the gap that the NHS would want to provide for, but hasn’t the resources or funding.

The HCCN nursing team is based out of Hinchingbrooke Hospital. They work alongside other hospital professionals and carry out interventions that allow people to stay in their own home, or continue working during treatment.

Terry receives treatment at home from a HCCN nurse. (Image: HCCN)

They keep people symptom free, avoiding unplanned hospital admissions and help make hospital stays shorter with the aim to get them home with friends and family.

Support is for the whole family through what can be a very confusing, stressful and worrying time, and it is their aim is to help patients, take back control of their life.

HCCN believe that the best way to help people get their lives back on track, after a cancer diagnosis, is to equip them with the skills they need in order to play a full part in managing their health.

Sometimes that means helping people develop new habits, perhaps around exercise or diet, but it also means supporting people whilst they manage their emotional responses to their illness, and get back on track to rebuild their lives positively.

The task is huge and demand is growing. A recent report carried out by HCCN showed there are currently more than 10,000 people in Huntingdonshire diagnosed with cancer.

This underpins the importance of building connections with the local community, continually establishing a fantastic caring team of volunteers and focusing on fundraising to help continue funding the free support available to everyone.

HCCN offers support based on research highlighting the importance to focus on healthy eating, physical exercise and mental well-being.

Nutrition can be easily overlooked. This is why HCCN have introduced ‘Living Well with Cancer Drop In’ sessions to help individuals identify for themselves what they might like to change, or adapt to support their health.

HCCN’s programme for physical exercise is vast and designed to suit individual’s different needs. Including yoga, Tai Chi, pilates, balance and strength, and their prehab & rehab classes help people prepare for treatment, and rebuild to help transition from feeling like a patient to a person.

HCCN also believes complimentary services, that are approved by your healthcare team, can work alongside conventional treatment to help reduce side-effects, improve quality of life, enhance immune function, increase feelings of control and support emotional health.

These services include counselling, Sleep Easy Workshop, footcare, beauty and massage, reflexology, Reiki, Patient to Person Workshop, Keeping In Touch and a drop-in craft group.

Acupuncture can be provided at home. (Image: HCCN)

HCCN also offer two free conferences a year designed to empower attendees and are delivered by experts in their fields.

There are also drop-in support groups. Both men’s and women’s groups are run by HCCN nurse Andi. They are a lot of fun, supportive and always welcome new members for a chat, cups of tea and biscuits.

Their Friday drop-in group is open to everyone and is a space where you can come together to talk freely and gain mutual support. There is always a warm welcome and lots of laughter, complete with a constant supply of tea, coffee and snacks. This takes place the same time as many of HCCN’s free activities and is a hub for many before and after activities.

To find out more about these services, how to volunteer, fundraise, donate or more, visit HCCN’s website: https://www.hccnthecharity.org/ or Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HuntsCommunityCancerNetwork