“the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way“
This is the definition of serendipity (my favorite word of all time, I think I may have mentioned this before…) and lo and behold do we not get a call from an old friend of the charity.
We have been busy behind the scenes putting together the plans for the next stage in the growth of our charity. The research trials that we are funding are progressing as much as possible in these Covid times, we continue to support patients and caregivers and we are starting to set up various welfare provisions to continue to assist those affected by PMP and other cancers of the appendix.
As chance would have it we were approached by Jason Spendelow, a coach and clinical psychologist, offering to help us and we bit his hand off. He couldn’t be a better fit for us. Jason, whose wife Charlotte was part of our community until she sadly passed away, has practical and down-to-earth knowledge and experience of the issues that we all can face.
He gave Angela and I lots of options (we want them all but are trying to behave) and we have agreed on a priority list of topics which he will be discussing on live Zoom calls in January. They are intended to be quite practical and interactive, so people will be encouraged to participate and ask questions where they feel comfortable.
Dates for your diary
Remaining true to your values when living with PMP and appendix cancer - 13/01/21
Many things are out of our control when living with an illness like PMP. The limited ability to influence our day-to-day lives is a source of real stress and helplessness. Rather than trying to control the uncontrollable, we can instead take actions consistent with our core values. A values-based focus can give purpose to our behaviours and improve our wellbeing. In this workshop, we will look at identifying core values and the behaviours that take us towards or away from them. We will also look at strengthening your ‘towards moves’ toolkit.
To register for this session, please go to the Eventbrite registration page here.
The grief and loss process involved in PMP and appendix cancers
Cancer is one of many chronic illnesses where grief and loss are relevant psychological issues. There are many losses to deal with, many of which are not obvious to others, or even to ourselves. We will cover grief and loss in PMP in this workshop, along with some strategies to help cope with these issues.
To register for this event, please go to the Eventbrite registration page here.
Perimenopause and menopause for the PMP and appendix cancer community
Join Dr Sarah Ball MBChB, MRCGP, DCH, DRCOG, DFFP from Newson Health for this session arising from issues we face as a result of surgical menopause during treatment. Dr Ball will talk about what the peri menopause and menopause is what the symptoms are and how that impacts our bodies. Then look at the best ways of managing those symptoms and the role of HRT.
To register for this session, please go to the Eventbrite registration page here.
Susan
Chair
Pseudomyxoma Survivor