Today is #WorldCancerDay, raising awareness of the many aspects of caring for people affected by the disease #palliativecare

Today is World Cancer Day, a global awareness campaign co-ordinated by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). Thousands of cancer and health charities, along with Hospices are united together to let the world know what we are doing to support the various aspects of caring and supporting people affected by the disease:

• Prevention
• Early Detection
• Treatment
• Quality

The UICC have set down some firm World Cancer Declaration Targets to be met by 2025, the ones that most relate to us are set out in this Quality of Life factsheet.

At Wirral Hospice St John’s the majority of our patients have cancer. Although we also care for people with other illnesses such as heart disease, and respiratory and neurological conditions, cancer is still the most common disease we are providing end of life and palliative care for. Our role as a Hospice is to try to keep our patients as independent as possible for as long as they have;  we provide care and support in terms of medication management and symptom control but we also provide practical guidance such as financial advice to help people plan for their families’ future when they are no longer around. In addition to that, we offer health and well-being support in the form of physiotherapy, creative therapy, aromatherapy and relaxation techniques. We care for each patient on an individual basis; no two patients have identical illnesses or needs or wishes in how they’d like to be cared for.

Families are at the heart of everything we do at Wirral Hospice St John’s, so we not only look after our patients but try to give us much support as we can to their loved ones as well. Whilst our patients are still with us, but also after they’ve gone we go on to provide bereavement support for as long as it’s needed by carers and families.

If you are a patient, or care or relative of a patient, and you think you or someone close to you might benefit from care at Wirral Hospice St John’s, please speak with your GP, your consultant, your nurse specialist or district nurse and they can advise you on the procedure for being referred into our care. Please also call us directly on 0151 334 2778 if you have any questions or queries – we are open 24hrs a day, all year round.

Author: Teresa Nightingale