Every day in Northern Ireland 26 people are told they have cancer. For many it can feel like their world has been turned upside down and it can be difficult to know where to turn for support. However, for Joan Dillon Trengove from Ballymoney, she refused to let cancer stop her living her life despite being given this news twice.
Joan who works for the Northern Health Trust, first found out she had breast cancer in November 2021 after a routine mammogram. Joan said ‘At this stage, I wasn’t concerned, the consultant told me it was a straightforward procedure and the tumour was only millimetres in size. Given the news in November, I had surgery in December, radiotherapy in February and was back to work in March 2022. However, in July 2022 after a bad fall, I had a gut feeling something wasn’t right with one breast. Following the usual mammogram and ultrasound scan which showed nothing, they took 3 biopsies and at that point was told I had a further unrelated breast cancer. I was advised I had a much larger tumour which in fact turned out to be 8cm by 8cm.’ Following more surgery and radiotherapy, Joan underwent a further 10 months of chemotherapy in an attempt to prevent cancer spreading to anywhere else. It was following the start of the second round of chemotherapy when ‘the enormity of it all hit me and I reached out to Charis Cancer Care’.
Charis Cancer Care opened its doors in March 2010 as a purpose-built complementary care centre for people going through their cancer journey. Its mission statement is to provide person-centred care for those whose lives are affected by cancer from diagnosis onwards. The service will be delivered through an individualised, integrated, and free of charge programme, providing complementary therapies and psychological support.
At all times the service will seek to work collaboratively with mainstream healthcare and other partners in care.
Charis offers a range of services to support with the emotional, physical and psychological impact of cancer to those going through cancer, their family and those bereaved by cancer. Services include counselling, complementary therapies such as aromatherapy, massage and reflexology, yoga, mindfulness, relaxation, healthy eating workshops and financial advice. Charis also has a therapist who provides Emmett technique which is a light touch therapy that aims to help with pain relief. All these services are provided free of charge.
Joan describes Charis as ‘a sanctuary, where everything is so incredibly personal. Too often when you ring for support, you have to press 1 for this, 2 for that, but with Charis, you get through straight away to a warm friendly voice asking ‘what is it you need?’ rather than ‘here is what we can do for you’. I contacted Charis on the Thursday and by Tuesday I saw my counsellor and it was then the floodgates opened, on feelings and emotions which I had kept a lid on for so long. After counselling I then had a reflexology session with one of Charis therapists and to be able to have the reflexology after counselling helps to clear up the broken glass and the path is clear for when you walk out the door. I can also sit for an hour or two overlooking the beautiful Lough Fea with a cup of tea, I never feel rushed, and it feels like my own personal space.’
Joan is still in discussions with doctors and consultants about her next steps on her cancer journey but knows Charis is available when she needs the support. She regularly attends the gym, walks the mountains and is back to work.
Charis relies on the generosity of the public to fund their much-needed services. One session of counselling or complementary therapy costs the organisation £45. All services are free of charge. This March, Charis is encouraging people to have a ‘cuppa for Charis’ to celebrate its 14th birthday and raise money to help this local charity continue to support anyone over 18 from Northern Ireland going through their cancer journey. For more information, please email fundraiser@chariscancercare.org
For further information on getting help from Charis you can call on 028 86769217 or visit our website www.chariscancercare.org
