Manchester Wellness Day

1 in 2 people will develop cancer in their lifetime and 4 out of 10 cases could be prevented due to lifestyles changes according to statistics from Cancer Research UK.

This one-day event in the heart of Manchester was for everyone, from those living with cancer to anyone interested in prevention.

“Stressful situations can sometimes lead us to develop unhealthy habits, such as smoking, overeating or heavy drinking. We know that these things can lead to cancer, so in this way, stress could increase your cancer risk” – Cancer Research UK.

As April was also Stress Awareness Month, we shared knowledge from expert speakers to enable attendees to optimise their own health – not to overwhelm, but to share simple strategies which people can integrate into their lifestyle at their own pace.

The day was split into 3 main areas of health and wellbeing:

– Emotional wellbeing (including rest and good sleep quality)
– Nutrition
– Exercise

We understand how exhausting a life can be and how confusing the various messages around wellbeing are. The 3 basic needs are often difficult to manage due to lack of energy, time, funds, information being inaccessible and other life events taking a priority.
What was included in the day?

· Why are these things are so important and the evidence behind this (including real life examples)
· How to start to make sense of the minefield of research that is out there
· How to make these changes with very little expense and without it taking too much of your time
· A demonstration to get you moving
· Handouts/tip sheets to take home

Liz Butler Msc Dip ION mBANT rCNHC: Having previously founded Body Soul Nutrition and more recently co-founded Cancer Clarity, Liz has a great passion for helping individuals recognise the power they hold over their own health, happiness and life.

Liz has almost 20 years’ experience as a nutritional therapist specialising in cancer support. However, her main interest is in providing emotional and spiritual support and helping clients to look deep within themselves to find the answers they need on their healing journey. Liz has embarked on much study in the field of mind-body medicine and has been trained as a coach by the renowned HeartMath Institute.

Liz will be opening the conference, giving us an overview of all aspects of wellbeing and why they are crucial in improving health outcomes.

Clare McLusky: Clare McLusky is an experienced mental health practitioner, group worker and a teacher at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre. She teaches mindfulness courses in her local community and leads workshops and courses for Breast Cancer Care and the Maggie Centre. She will lead a session, introducing mindfulness and the evidence for its effectiveness in reducing stress, anxiety and low mood following a diagnosis of cancer. She will guide short meditation practices to use in daily life particularly when times are tough.

Silvia Grisendi PhD MSc DipNT mBANT rCNHC:

Silvia is a cancer research scientist turned nutritional therapist and holistic health coach. She combines over 20 years’ experience in biomedicine with a long standing passion for naturopathic nutrition, lifestyle medicine, and transformational healing. Her motivation comes from empowering individuals affected by chronic disease with the knowledge and practical tools to help them manifest their innate healing potential.
Alongside her business partner Liz Butler, more recently Silvia has co-founded Cancer Clarity, an enterprise with the aim of providing information on how natural lifestyle changes can support recovery from cancer, and offering inspiration on the central role of each individual in their own journey to better health.

Lizzy Davis: Lizzy worked as an Oncology Nurse for 10 years before becoming involved in Cancer Exercise Rehabilitation. She developed CanExercise to help bring awareness to those going through cancer and treatment, on the importance of physical activity and how beneficial it can be both physically and emotionally. Exercise is a valuable tool that can enhance life span, vitality and quality of life. Whether it’s preparing the body for physically demanding treatments, or enabling those to recover, heal and take control again, physical activity can help each individual to reconnect with the ‘old you’, or perhaps find a ‘new me’.

It’s not what you can’t do, it’s what you can do…