Winter 2017
In this issue: • Living Well in Scotland • A “stomping success” • Client Voice: shaping the future • Festive fundraising, then bungee beckons
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Starting in Scotland demonstrates our determination Welcome to the winter edition of Connect. As 2017 draws to a close I want to share with you the fantastic news that we are launching our first ever Living Well course in Scotland. We are thrilled to be piloting the free course at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, thanks to the support of our royal patron, His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales and funding from Walk the Walk. This positive news symbolises our ambition to bring health and enrichment to all four corners of the UK. With our royal patron in mind, we have enjoyed celebrating the 10th anniversary of Prince Charles officially opening our National Centre. To mark the occasion, we held several events including our first ever Bristol Stomps for Cancer. Lovely weather helped to make it a really fun event and it was amazing to see so many step out in purple. Look out for Stomp next year when it will return bigger and better. After months of planning, our new 7-day Recipe Plan is here. Our creative kitchen staff and nutritional therapists have created delicious recipes to help you create nutritious daily menus to
cook at home. To tempt you, you can read more about it and find one of my favourite recipes on page 6. I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you. Firstly, to our clients for placing your trust in us and giving us the opportunity to help you. To our supporters and fundraisers for raising money to keep our services free for all who need them. And, to our partners, volunteers and staff who work so hard to deliver our services and provide a safe haven for those in need. Thank you. Finally, may I wish you a peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year. Best wishes
Laura Kerby CEO
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Flying the flag for the first time in Scotland Our year ends with bonnie news! We are delighted to be offering our first ever services in Scotland. We are piloting two Living Well courses at the 18th century stately home Dumfries House, in Ayrshire. The first is to take place in late November. We are also hoping to hold two education events. The first, focusing on the charity and our Bristol Whole Life Approach, will form part of a Foundation Course in Integrative Medicine for Healthcare Professionals. An evaluation will then determine whether to develop the second event. Our medical director Catherine Zollman said:
“ Words cannot express how honoured and proud we are to pilot in Scotland. We hope it’s a stepping stone to launching there permanently. We thank HRH and Walk the Walk for their incredible support. Without them, this project would never have happened. We will all do our utmost to see Penny Brohn stay in Scotland.”
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s ie r o t s s a m t is r h C t s The be a dash start with the snow through This year’s Christmas appeal features Jennie’s story. Jennie was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2015. She has used many of our services to great benefit and is a passionate advocate of the Bristol Whole Life Approach. Jennie has been told that her cancer is now incurable but she refuses to let this knowledge overshadow her life or her zest for living. Jennie is sharing her story to inspire others and asks you to join her in making a donation.
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“ Living with the knowledge that your time is limited isn’t easy. But I know Penny Brohn will help me every step of the way. hey give me a necessary and T unbelievably helpful dose of sanity and comfort, and I strongly believe this should be there for everyone who needs it. I hope you’ll join me in supporting this amazing charity, by donating today.”
To read Jennie’s inspirational story in full and to donate go to www.pennybrohn.org.uk/JenniesAppeal2017
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Scores of strollers secure Stomps’ success Over 100 people, from small steppers to seasoned strollers, helped our first ever Bristol Stomps for Cancer raise over £5,500 and mark a milestone. A parade of purple walked six miles from Millennium Square, under Brunel’s iconic suspension bridge and along the towpath to the National Centre in September. The fundraiser marked the 10th anniversary of royal patron, HRH The Prince of Wales, officially opening the building in July 2007. Organiser, and community fundraiser Ian Riddell said:
“ Spirits were incredibly high – it was great to see everyone united in purple – even the dogs! We’re delighted with the amount raised. Every step, even the smallest, helped us make big strides in our mission to reach everyone with cancer.”
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Fresh from the oven We are delighted to launch our 7-day Recipe Plan – packed with inspirational, delicious and nutritious dishes for you to enjoy. All recipes are based on our Healthy Eating Guidelines. The new booklet includes colourful and nourishing breakfast, lunch and evening meals. It also includes snacks, desserts and dressing recipes together with key information on our food philosophy and the Healthy Eating Plate.
The plan will be included as part of the one-day nutrition course and retreats. If you would like your own copy it is available for £5.95 from the Penny Brohn shop, online and at the National Centre.
Sweet potato & spinach frittata This fantastic frittata features in our 7-day Recipe Plan.
Ingredients Olive oil 1 medium sweet potato, sliced 1 medium red onion, sliced 100g baby spinach or shredded chard or spinach leaves 4 eggs Basil, parsley or herbs of choice Salt, black pepper
Serves: 4 Method Heat oven to 200°C, Gas 6. Place potato and onion slices on oven tray, drizzle with olive oil, season and roast for 15-20 mins until tender. When cooked, layer the potato, onion, spinach and herbs in a 20cm, greased baking dish. Whisk the eggs with a little seasoning. Pour over the vegetables. Gently push down to ensure the eggs have soaked through. Reduce oven to 190°C, Gas 5 and bake for 15-20 mins until the eggs are set. Tip: Serve hot or cold. For variety you could try roasted butternut squash, celeriac, or peppers.
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Client Voice: have your say Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Client Voice event in September. We want clients to help shape our work and the session produced many ideas on what you need from us and how we can communicate what is going on. We talked about developing our services to include end of life and bereavement support. There was overwhelming support for us to explore these ideas further.
We are working on what these services may look like and will keep you updated on progress. If you would like to have your say or comment on this or anything else Penny Brohn, please get in touch by emailing clientvoice@ pennybrohn.org.uk
Cake takes the bite out of cancer Our partner GenesisCare UK’s staff and patients channelled their inner Mary Berry and held Bake a Difference cake sales throughout 2017 to raise over £720. Since 2013, we have provided Living Well services for chemotherapy and radiotherapy patients at six GenesisCare centres – Portsmouth, Southampton, Maidstone, Oxford, Elstree
and Milton Keynes. Services include a holistic assessment, acupuncture, reflexology, counselling, relaxation and mindfulness meditation sessions.
For more on regional services, call 0303 3000 118 or visit www.pennybrohn.org.uk
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Choirs’ Christmas collaboration A cavalcade of choirs will perform at our annual Christmas Concert in Clifton College Chapel, Bristol, on Friday, December 8. Cheddar Male, Penny Brohn Community, High Down Schools, Clifton College and Clifton High
School choirs will sing classic carols and festive favourites. The evening will include a raffle and refreshments.
Doors open at 6.15pm. Adult tickets cost £10, seniors and children £6. For tickets and more information, call 01275 370072, email sarah.godfrey@ pennybrohn.org.uk or visit pennybrohn.org.uk/event/christmas2017
Sipping tea with celebs Around 100 people sipped tea with our patron, Doctor Foster star, Suranne Jones, and actors Ben Miles, Angela Lonsdale and Lucy Briers to help our Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea in London raise over £14,000. Guests enjoyed bubbly, succulent sandwiches, cakes, scones and copious cups of tea in the regal ambiance of the Grand Connaught Rooms in Holborn. Jessica Brohn, Penny’s daughter, led the annual October event which included an inspiring talk by client, Nadine King. Auction items, including a week in the French Alps and luxury overnight London stay, added to the total.
Organiser, our special events manager Sarah Crooks said:
“ This was a superb chance to mingle with our wonderful celebrity supporters in relaxed surroundings. Everyone was so generous and we’re ecstatic with the amazing sum raised for our London services.”
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Car Company’s fundraising drive Jaguar Land Rover staff have raised over £55,000 to remember colleague Jacqui Evans, from Coventry. Her colleagues’ latest memorial summer ball in Solihull saw 180 guests enjoy dinner, music, a photo booth, auction and raffle to raise £37,875. Jacqui’s friend Emma Bailes said:
“ We’re overwhelmed by people’s generosity and support for Penny Brohn.
Jacqui’s colleague, Jan McLure, of Wellesbourne, took up running and has conquered 10 races in 6 months – over 120 miles – including the Great North Run, to raise money in Jacqui’s memory, adding over £2,000 to the total.
Jacqui was an incredible woman and is very much missed. Her cancer experience was undoubtedly made easier by the charity. She spoke fondly of her time there and the great friends she made, which is why we wanted to help.”
Prize-winning poster Our Living Well courses for parents and carers of teenagers and young adults with cancer has been recognised for its innovation. Awarded best poster at the Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer (TYAC) Brightlight summer conference in Leeds, it won for skilfully outlining our original work with the TYA Unit at Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre. 9 PBXXX Winter Newsletter 2017_AW2.indd 10
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Princely sum presented We are delighted to receive a grant of £40,000 from The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation to develop our nutritional programme to reach around 3,000 people in 2018. The sum will fund: 450 nutritional therapy appointments, 36 healthy cooking demos, six healthy cooking day workshops, three Food to Nourish the Body and Soul short retreats and our new 7-day Recipe Plan.
Our trusts fundraiser Helen Sanderson said:
“ We’re thrilled to have our application accepted. The programme will help people with cancer understand how good nutrition and small lifestyle changes can improve health and wellbeing, and reduce the impact of treatment.”
For more on our free nutritional services, call 0303 3000 118, email info@pennybrohn.org.uk or visit the website.
Centre of attention Our National Centre’s facilities provide the ideal opportunity to create more revenue to invest into our free services to support people with cancer. We are now offering conference facilities, a wedding venue, and bespoke corporate Away Days to re-energise your staff team. Our facilities include an award-winning restaurant, sanctuary, shop, cooking demonstration room, 26 beautiful bedrooms and 17 therapy rooms. We also have ample onsite parking and four acres of beautiful gardens which are looked after by our devoted garden volunteers and provide an oasis of calm.
To discover everything our centre offers, call 01275 370150, email andrew.hufford@pennybrohn. org.uk or visit our website.
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Partnership working at its best – Penny Brohn UK and GenesisCare UK Penny Brohn UK and GenesisCare UK launched a partnership in 2013 with a shared vision to help people with cancer live the best life possible. GenesisCare UK uses cutting-edge technology to provide a range of cancer treatments at centres across the UK. These treatments are all delivered with high levels of patient-friendly, individualised care. Providing Penny Brohn Living Well services within GenesisCare is a natural extension of their whole person approach. At each of the six GenesisCare centres providing the Living Well service, the patient will meet with the Living Well coordinator and together they will decide which complementary therapy from those available will most suit their needs. This may include relaxation, mindfulness and meditation sessions. Heather Mercer, who works as a Living Well coordinator at GenesisCare‘s centre in Portsmouth, knows just what a difference this service makes to patients.
“ Patients may arrive weary and fearful of the impact of their radiotherapy and what the future holds. Our Penny Brohn offering, funded by GenesisCare, makes an incredible difference to patients’ wellbeing and quality of life. A patient recently commented on their experience saying: “ The positive caring atmosphere of the centre, together with the support sessions from Penny Brohn have made the daily radiotherapy sessions much easier to cope with, when juggling work and family life as well.” Heather further adds,
“ I’ve learned so much from working with incredible patients, expert doctors, radiographers and everyone at Penny Brohn UK.”
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Chris conquers colossal cross-Channel cycle Dr Chris Quartly conquered our 308-mile London-Paris Bike Ride mere days after being knocked off his bicycle. We supported his wife Liz, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015. Despite being hit by a car two weeks before the four-day fundraiser, the determined Dunstablebased GP crossed the Eiffel Tower finish to raise £1,500. Chris, 60, said:
“ It was touch and go whether I’d take part, but I wanted to for Liz and the great charity that helped her come to terms with the disease. It was a superb ride, beautiful countryside and the finish was spectacular – a day before the Tour de France – with crowds cheering us home.”
Our next London-Pa ris Bike Ride ru ns July 25-29.
Have a laugh in Bath to raise £250 in minimum sponsorship. If you have your own place, why not join our team and raise as much as you can – £250 can fund someone to attend our residential Living Well course.
Join us at the Bath Half Marathon on Sunday, March 4, 2018. Run for us or join our cheer point. The 13.1-mile fast, flat course includes spectacular, historic sights, with lots of entertainment along the route. Registration costs £29 and we ask you
We’ll support you every step of the way. You’ll receive a personalised running vest, fundraising pack and regular training tips. On the day our famous cheer point will be there to keep you going. To take part or for more information, call 01275 370073, email fundraising@pennybrohn.org.uk or visit our website.
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Catherine published in prestigious publication Our Research & Evaluation team works hard to evidence our effectiveness. We strive to showcase our impact in well-respected medical, complementary and scientific publications to ground our work in science. We are delighted to share our medical director, Dr Catherine Zollman’s recent article for the Journal of Holistic Healthcare (Vol. 14. Issue 2. Summer 2017). Resilience and Realistic Hope for Women with Breast Cancer – I’m a person with a life, not a patient with a prognosis – highlights how our Bristol Whole Life Approach can help build resilience.
To read the article in full go to www.pennybrohn.org.uk/news For a PDF copy, email comms@ pennybrohn.org.uk
Countdown to Christmas We hope yule love our online Christmas Calendar www.pennybrohn.org.uk/ advent-2017. You can find recipes, images, living well advice, upcoming events and more behind each door.
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Chinese exercise for all Qi Gong, pronounced ‘chi gung’ and meaning ‘life energy cultivation’, is an ancient Chinese system of gentle repeated exercises, breathing and meditation techniques that support energy and wellbeing. Related to tai chi, movement is flowing, slow and can benefit anyone, whatever their fitness or mobility. Qi Gong stretches the body, increases the movement of fluids (blood, synovial and lymph) and builds awareness of how the body moves through space. It has external and internal movements. The latter – neigong or ‘internal power’ – boosts health and wellness, and differentiates
Qi Gong from other Western exercise forms, which often focus on cardio or muscle strength. We host a free class at our National Centre on Mondays from 10.30am11.30am. For more information, call 0303 3000 118 or visit our website.
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Send your love From conventional cards to grin-inducing greetings, our Christmas card collection has 10 new designs to suit all. They cost just £3.75 per pack of 10, with everything raised going to support people facing cancer. For all designs, including some from last year, buy online at www.shopatpennybrohn.com or call our 24-hour order line on 01275 370158.
Dates for your diary 2017 – December 8 – Christmas Concert – Clifton College, Bristol 2018 March 4 – Bath Half Marathon (runners and cheerpoint volunteers) March 6 – Living Well Conference – National Centre April 22 – London Marathon April 27 – Bungee the Boss – Bristol May 12 – Moonwalk (volunteers) – London May 12-20 – Great Wall of China Trek May 13 – Bristol 10k (runners and volunteers) May 17-27 – Dalai Lama Trek – India
May 19 – Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea – National Centre May 20 – Comedy Night – National Centre July 25-29 – London-Paris Bike Ride July 29 – RideLondon Sept 28-Oct 7 – Cycle Madagascar Oct 13-21 – Cycle Burma
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The bungee beckons Want to see your boss or colleague at the business end of a 160ft bungee jump? Bungee the Boss returns to Lloyds Amphitheatre, Bristol, on Friday, April 27. Unite and nominate your unsuspecting person – from shop floor to boardroom – and raise £500 to see them take the plunge. Now in its third year, Bungee is back bigger and better than ever. It’s a perfect event to get your whole company involved, have some fun and support a fantastic cause. Last year raised over £15,000 and, with your help, we will double this. To get involved, call 01275 370092 or email samantha. young@pennybrohn.org.uk
Penny Brohn UK Chapel Pill Lane, Pill, Bristol, BS20 0HH Tel: 0303 3000 118 Email: info@pennybrohn.org.uk Website: www.pennybrohn.org.uk Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales Reg Charity No 284881 Penny Brohn UK is the working name of Penny Brohn Cancer Care.
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