Archive

Life after cancer treatments focus of upcoming hospice workshop

February 15, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

Hospice Dufferin will be offering a new workshop to local residents next week focusing on life after cancer treatments.

“We’re providing this for anyone that is finished with cancer treatments, in remission or anyone who is in that in between of not being in active treatment, but not completely finished with treatment either,” said Brianna Brown, Program and Volunteer Coordinator at Hospice Dufferin. 

She added, “There is a lot of talk about cancer. There is talk about how hard getting the diagnosis can be, how difficult treatments can be, and even about dying from cancer. However, there is not a lot of talk about what happens after treatments are over. This is a group of people who, oftentimes, don’t have a whole lot of options. This workshop is an opportunity to provide a chance for these people to receive that extra level of support they need.”

Taking place this Sunday, Feb. 17, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Hospice Dufferin’s office on Centre Street, the workshop is completely free to those interested in participating. According to Brianna, the workshop will cover various sub-topics under the general life after cancer treatment scope.

“Sometimes it might mean remission and no more cancer, other times it is waiting for the next tumour to be found. One thing we’ve found is, for people out of treatment, there is a lot of ‘now what?’ and ‘what do I do now?’  This workshop will cover all of that,” she said. 

Eileen Dahl, a local registered physiotherapist, spiritual care specialist and herself a cancer survivor, will be on hand to share her story. Brianna says there will also be an opportunity for participants to share their stories with each other.

With this being a first-time offering here in Dufferin, Brianna says she hopes there’s enough interest to make it more of a regular thing in the community. 

“We are hoping, down the line, to turn this into a longer series of workshops,” Ms. Brown confirmed.

Other offerings

Also on the horizon, Hospice Dufferin is in the process of setting up a Dragonflies group, which will centre around helping children cope with grief and the loss of loved ones. A seven-week program will begin on March 19.

The organization is also preparing a new project it’s calling ‘100 Percent Certainty’. Basically, Brianna says, the group will serve as book club, tackling four different titles throughout the year that are focused on death and illness. That particular initiative will kick off on May 2.

Those interested in participating in any of the programs are asked to contact Ms. Brown to register by calling 519-942-3313 ext. 2.

Readers Comments (0)