This is what we want for cancer patients, families and their healthcare teams:
Cancer patients in the UK need your support. Sign the petition today
We want cancer patients to be treated as individuals, with kindness and compassion. To have access to information, options, support, resources and reasonable hope. Sounds obvious right? The NHS in its own charter seeks to be patient-centric but the reality on the ground is far from that. Read our full charter to come face to face with the reality of how cancer patients are being treated in the UK. It is not easy reading. We need your support to herald the need for change, and quickly. 1 in 2 people are being diagnosed with cancer in the UK of all ages and ethnicities. It is not ok to treat human beings who are in the most vulnerable position they have ever found themselves without love, compassion and reasonable hope. To deny them information, second opinions and options, in some cases to mock their determination to survive.
In the world of healthcare, where the delicate balance between science and compassion plays a pivotal role, the ‘Yes to Life Charter for Oncology’ aims to bring an inspirational vision for the evolution of the relationship between oncology professionals and patients.
Sign the petition today and send a message to the government that you care about cancer patients and you want the best for them.
Hope and the will to live is a critical predictor of quality of life and longevity. We demand cancer patients are permitted ‘reasonable hope.’
Oncology staff must strive to understand the emotional experience of their patients, so that they feel supported, optimistic and cared for.
Every patient deserves to aim for the best possible result. With increasing public awareness of evidence supporting lifestyle interventions, patients should be supported in wanting to be ‘exceptional.’
Cancer specialists should offer their expertise for the patient’s benefit whilst respecting their autonomy and individuality.
Patients need to feel that oncology staff are ‘on their team.’ Always wanting the best outcome for them.
Cancer is not well understood. Oncology has much to offer but so do many other specialities. Patients often become experts in their own conditions and are experts in how they feel. Wellbeing is more than good medical treatment.
You can read the full Charter here: The Yes to Life Charter for Oncology
And you sign our Petition here: Implement the Yes to Life Charter for Oncology
Dr Everington practices at a GP partnership which is part of the Bromley by Bow Centre, an innovative community organisation with more than 100 projects under its roof supporting wider determinants of health.
Considered a founder of the social prescribing movement, he says “…it focuses on what matters to patients. This increases satisfaction, delivers better health outcomes and reduces prescribing and referral costs.”
Under his chairmanship of Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group, the Group was awarded Clinical Commissioning Group of the year by the Health Service Journal in November 2014, receiving praise for“strong leadership, especially clinical leadership, while retaining patient focus.”
“The Yes to Life Charter for Oncology will improve the early diagnosis of cancer and provide holistic care to those living with it”
Join Dr Sir Sam Everington – sign the petition today
Dr Kechagioglou is a Senior Consultant Clinical Oncologist practising at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire.
She has experience in advanced radiotherapy techniques for breast cancer including proton therapy, personalised chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments based on genomic testing, as well as integrative oncology.
Dr Kechagioglou currently serves as the Chief Clinical Information and Deputy Chief Medical Officer at UHCW. She has also recently served as Co-Chair of the British Society for Integrative Oncology.
“As an oncologist, passionate about health creation and patient empowerment, I support the Yes to Life Charter for Oncology; the latter advocates for an Integrative Medicine approach to cancer care, supports patients to navigate health and care choices, and inspires a compassionate and inclusive culture in healthcare”
Join Dr Penny Kechagioglou – sign the petition today
Chris founded Chris’s Cancer Community in 2007 out of a personal need for practical support during his own cancer experience.
He has transformed the cancer support landscape by advocating for patient inclusion and breaking down silos among charities.
He has played a pivotal role in ensuring patients’ voices are heard and championing their rights within the industry through speaking engagements, worldwide presentations, and collaboration with clinicians. Chris is recognised as an influential figure, driving change and disrupting the sector. Chris is also COO of YourSimPal, an innovative charity supporting individuals affected by cancer.
“The Yes to Life Charter for Oncology will help create a crucial working ‘partnership’ between patient and clinician, as the numbers affected by cancer increase rapidly. I am proud to have my name associated, and wish I could claim that I created it!”
Join Chris Lewis – sign the petition today
Sheila is well-known as a pioneering broadcaster who has presented the BBC Food Programme for more than 20 years.
Amongst the enormously wide-ranging content of the show, she has presented some of the very first UK public broadcasts ever to tackle questions around nutrition and cancer, and in 2011 she spoke with Jenni Murray on BBC Woman’s Hour about her own experience of cancer, and shared her views on the role of nutrition.
Sheila has never fought shy of asking the hard questions, whether about government policy or medical dogma.
“I support the Yes to Life Charter for Oncology because, after 13 years of cancer treatment in the NHS, I see the limitations of the conventional medical model in treating cancer. I have a remarkable open-minded oncologist in charge of my treatment, but around him a shredded system that damages, sometimes kills, people with its certainty that patients have nothing to contribute to their recovery except obedience”
Join Sheila Dillon – sign the petition today
If you are interested to explore other ways in which you might be able to support the ‘The Yes to Life Charter for Oncology’, Please fill in the form below and we will get in touch.
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