Heads Up group proves popular with patients

A support group for patients with head and neck cancer is giving them a valuable outlet in addition to their clinical care.

The East Kent Heads Up group was the brainchild of head and neck support worker Anna Brown, who felt patients would benefit from talking to others in the same situation. Anna received a highly commended award at the Trust's recent Celebration Awards.

It meets every other month at venues across east Kent and allows patients to chat in an informal setting, as well as hear from visiting speakers.

Anna said: “Initially I wasn’t sure how popular it would be but we had more than 20 people at the first meeting and numbers have been quite steady since then.

“It’s a really supportive group, and the members look out for each other and make new people feel really welcome.

“There is a real sense of them helping each other, and it is lovely to see them chatting.

“The treatment can be tough but being able to talk to others going through the same thing really helps, and it can be good for people starting their journey to see someone who has gone through it.”

The group started in January at One You, Ashford, and venues have included Canterbury Rugby Club and the Masonic Lodge in Margate.

One of the patients started a WhatsApp group for the members, which is used to confirm venue details as well as answer queries or provide reassurance. Patients can be left with difficulty speaking, swallowing, or changes to their appearance following their treatment, and some are tube fed or have tracheostomies.

Anna said: “The group is improving and growing all the time, and we get feedback from the patients and their partners about they would like to see at the next group, or how we can improve on their experience.

“Friends and relatives are welcome too, and sometimes people bring someone to their first session then feel more confident to come alone.

“There was definitely a need for it, and I think it has really benefitted some of our more complex patients who are often men and can sometimes struggle to open up and talk.

“The group lets them sit and chat with others in a really informal setting and it’s been so successful that my colleagues working with skin cancer and colorectal cancer are now considering setting up their own.”