Welcoming our new Yes to Life Wigwam Support Group Coordinator – Sara Spinks

“I didn’t foresee the profound nurturing & emotional benefits of connection with like-minded souls within the Yes to Life Wigwam Cancer Support Groups or how rewarding and fulfilling being a volunteer Group Facilitator would be…”

Hi, I’m Sara and I’m completely honoured to be supporting Yes to Life as its new Wigwam Support Group Coordinator.

I follow in the inspiring steps of Philip Booth who was so passionate about the power that lies within community and I very much hope to build on what he wonderfully created.

As I reach the 5 year anniversary of my own breast cancer diagnosis this week,  I have reflected on my passion for taking an integrative approach to cancer as well as the profound benefits offered by coming together to support each other navigate what can be a very lonely and challenging path.

I recently decided to focus on all the positives of this strange journey.  The positives that can walk alongside the shock, sadness, trauma, grief, pain and loss that a diagnosis can bring. Some may argue that these don’t exist, that there is no shred of light, but I’ve yet to find anyone who doesn’t agree. Even our darkest emotions are typically fuelled by our love for something that we are afraid to part with.

I’m often asked why I continue to work in the field of cancer as some suggest that this may be detrimental to my own health and healing.

My answer is this:

• The people I’ve met on this integrative path are so alive and grateful for this precious life
• Conversations are profound, meaningful, fascinating, beautiful philosophical, existential (I always wanted to study philosophy, I studied business and IT!?)
• Emotions come to the surface, raw, authentic and vulnerable. There is no repression or looking the other way anymore. Honesty is there to cherish and heal.
• Friendships are deep and connecting
• Accountability is present (without self-blame) for the impact we can have on our own health. Pro-active curiosity keeps us learning.
• There is presence, living for the moment, in the moment. There is gratitude for the now and the emphasis is on today.
• There is a deeper self-awareness for what makes us human, what creates our energy and what we can do to live this beautiful life to the full.
• New lives are created. We may be given more ‘notice’ of a potential ‘end’, but a new way of living is often a result. Many feel healthier than ever before in spite of their diagnosis (such can be the irony).
• Life is lived from the heart
• Life is lived through a different lens (whether cancer is still active or moving forwards). It is forever different. A new awareness is created for so much.
• It is learned that both pain, sadness and happiness can co-exist together
• Hope is rife for new possibilities

…and this doesn’t even touch on my passion for holding and supporting people going through this journey to manage their fear and anxiety and find these shreds of light in the darkness. As I am truly grateful for those who helped me create such light in the shadows and continue to do so.

I realised in pondering these, and through volunteering as a Yes to Life Wigwam Cancer Support Group Facilitator this past year, that all of these blessings are so very evident within our groups.

I didn’t reach out to a Cancer Support Group at diagnosis. I was  ‘Lucky Stage 1’ and felt they were for those more deserving  (such can be the bizarre competitive nature of cancer that makes us dismiss our own feelings)!? I couldn’t’t have been more wrong, especially as resulting unprocessed emotions came back to haunt me. I needed to process what I was going through outside of my own networks (family & friends) and being part of a group provides that space.

I also waited to offer help as a Group Facilitator, thinking there would be so many, more capable people offering their services. Not realising that the best Facilitators are just those who have an understanding of this journey and how it can feel. Those who are happy to be there and hold space for others to share their stories and feelings and find their way. Many of our Facilitators start as Group members and ‘fall into the role’.

As I move forward as the Wigwam Co-ordinator , my aim is to share these incredible positives, sometimes in the darkness, with as many people as possible as we grow our wonderful Wigwam Community.

Please do get in touch using the link below if you’d like to learn more about how our groups can support you, or if you’re interested in setting up a group either online or in-person in your area.

My door is always open…

www.yestolife.org.uk/cancer-support-groups/