After being diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, life can bring uncertainty, difficult conversations and significant changes to everyday life.
At City Hospice, we recently introduced a new six-week Living Well programme, designed to support patients and their carers through different aspects of living with a serious illness.
Led by Clinical Nurse Specialist Faye, the programme brings patients and carers together with a focus on what matter most to them and offers time to explore other worries including symptom management and more practical matters.
Faye shares:
“Our new programme is about recognising that even when someone is living with a serious illness, there’s still an opportunity to live well. It’s about managing symptoms, but it’s also about relationships, hopes, priorities and the things that give someone’s life meaning.
“It’s about helping people feel that they still have a voice and control over what happens next. Serious illness can sometimes make people feel that decisions are being made for them, and we want to help people identify what‘s important to them and support them to make choices that fit with their own lives.”
The six-week programme covers topics including pain, fatigue and breathlessness, alongside opportunities to talk about what matters most to each person and to think about the future.
A safe space to talk
Howard meets Sir Gareth Edwards during City Hospice Sports Bar
For Howard, being diagnosed with cancer changed the way he looked at life. However, one of the hardest challenges was learning to talk openly about how he was feeling.
Howard shares how the programme has helped him, and why being able to connect with other people living with a serious illness has been one of the most valuable parts of the experience.
“To be diagnosed with cancer is mind-blowing. I know I have cancer, but underneath, I don’t believe it because I don’t feel ill. I’m a stubborn old bugger, but this programme has helped me open up as a person.
“Men do have a tendency to shut the doors. Meeting other people who are in a similar situation has really helped me. You’re talking to people who understand what you’re going through and that makes a big difference.
“I would never have spoken to my kids about power of attorney, wills or anything like that. It was unheard of. But through the programme, it became a conversation that didn’t feel strange anymore.
“It’s given me the understanding that it’s not just my opinion that matters. It’s everybody around me too – my wife, my kids, everybody. We’ve started having conversations that we probably wouldn’t have had before.”
Looking back on the six weeks, Howard says the programme has given him a greater understanding of himself and helped him feel more able to cope with his diagnosis and the uncertainty that comes with it.
While every person’s experience of serious illness is different, the Living Well programme offers a supportive space where patients and carers can learn, share experiences and gain confidence in navigating the future.
For Faye, one of the most rewarding parts of the programme is seeing people realise they are not alone.
“The group gives people the opportunity to support one another, share experiences and have conversations they may never have had before. By the end of the six weeks, people often tell us they feel more informed, more confident and more able to focus on what matters most to them.
“Living Well isn’t about giving up hope. It’s about helping people live as well as possible, for as long as possible, in a way that feels right for them.”
