Our History

CSC 21st birthday celebration

In April 2022 The Cancer Support Centre is celebrating 21 years of supporting adults affected by cancer in the West Midlands.

We are having a Birthday Celebration on 23^rd April in the grounds of the Centre in Lindridge Road.  The day will start at 11am with the Mayor Councilor Terry Wood opening the event and will run until 4pm. Everyone is welcome to come and see us, share a cream tea, visit the stalls and take part in the Raffle and Tombola but more importantly see, and experience in some small way what we are able to share with our clients to help them feel supported. There will be short relaxation sessions, opportunity to learn some tips and tools to manage challenging circumstances, and even have some therapy taster sessions 1:1 with our therapists. For the children we have an Easter Trail and goodie bag around the grounds which should be exciting !  

Book your afternoon tea and therapy tasters!

History

What began as a vision by a former nurse, Mavis Cunningham meeting in a room at Good Hope Hospital is now  a charity supporting up to 600 clients every year and offering 1:1 therapeutic support sessions, workshops and groups.  The £175,000 required each year is raised entirely through fundraising and donations from clients and supporters with a small amount from Trusts and Grant providers.   Fundraising in all its forms has been a continual challenge, but enjoyable !  The regular Summer & Christmas Fayre, Flower demonstrations, Evenings out as well as the efforts of folk with sponsored events, cycling running, walking to name but a few.  Throughout it all the volunteers and supporters have been and continue to be amazing. 

From small beginnings ….

From the one room at Good Hope Hospital, the charity was born and was formally registered 20^th April 2001. By October it had found a more permanent home in Farthing Lane, Sutton Coldfield.  (this is now Our Place Support) . They were open for 1 day a week which then became 2, offering some individual complementary therapies and self help courses to clients, with Volunteers at the core of the service.

The charity continued to grow, and the continued success of the service meant new premises were required and with the support of Sutton Coldfield Municipal Charities, the charity moved to Station House, Midland Drive in 2004.  By 2007 the Centre was open for 4 days a week Monday to Thursday.  A part-time administrator was employed in 2005 and then Volunteer coordinator in 2007 but, as before, volunteers were essential to provide the services offered.

By 2010…

the Trustees realised that larger more suitable premises were required and negotiations began to enable the Cancer Support Centre to move to Lindridge Road, Sutton Coldfield where it could share the premises on a 50/50 basis with St Giles Supportive Care.  The Cancer Support Centre moved to Lindridge Road at the end of February 2011, where it has made its home in the beautiful surroundings that continue to benefit the clients.  

Since then the numbers attending the Centre have continued to increase year on year and by 2012 were using 70% of the facility at Lindridge Road.  We were now supporting many more clients;  numbers attending 1:1 therapies and groups having trebled since 2012.

As numbers grew the Trustees reviewed the organization structure, and appointed a Centre Manager in 2014 supported by 2 Admin Assistants, and all the volunteers who still played a vital role in ensuring the clients needs were looked after when they came to the Centre.

Volunteers have always been essential to us being able to support our clients, right from the beginning and still are now.  They provide a warm welcome, a friendly listening ear, and give their all to ensure that clients feel welcomed safe and relaxed when they come in.  Others help in the office, distribute leaflets and flyers, volunteer at events, and we must not forget the team of  Trustees who oversee the organization are also volunteers.

The Trustees also  looked at the services that were being offered and asked the clients if there was anything else we could be doing.  This was the birth of CSC Helpyourself.  A programme of talks, workshops looking at the challenges a cancer diagnosis brings, anxiety, stress, pain, that worked at equipping our clients to help themselves.  Tools and techniques they could learn and be able to use when they felt at their worse, or when they woke in the middle of the night and there was no one to help.

By 2018…

the Centre was now supporting in excess of 500 clients each year, conducting an average 2650 1 : 1 individual  therapy sessions and had almost 3000 individuals attending the groups and workshops.

When the pandemic hit in 2020 we were hit hard as our support was traditionally face to face.

It was incredibly difficult, as we had to rethink how we did everything, and reinvent the way we were supporting our clients. We started offering telephone support for talking therapies, sharing techniques over the phone and zoom;  some of the therapists would call a group of clients regularly to ensure they were ok and managing; we ran online groups; WhatsApp groups sprang up where the groups of clients stayed in touch;  and we developed our own CSC Helpyourself You Tube channel.  All of these things worked together and we were able to continue to support our clients and new ones at a really dreadful time.  

We were hearing stories about surgery being cancelled, hospital treatments cancelled or postponed ….can you imagine what that does to a person who has just been told they have a cancer diagnosis ?  The psychological impact the pandemic has had on anyone with a diagnosis or someone who is supporting them has been enormous. And it is not ending.  We are starting to see the results of those cancellations and postponements – the progression of cancer does not stop just because the world does !

In 2021…

the Centre was able to open again Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of each week.    We still have protocols in  place to protect our clients, plus we are still offering some sessions over the phone for clients who are still unsure about leaving the house, or are too poorly to do so.  Confidence to come to the Centre is increasing  gradually, and we look forward to the sounds of chat and laughter returning once more. 

UPDATE NOW…

It has been an incredibly challenging 2 years, but we have come through due to the focus and determination of all the staff, therapists and volunteers, and the incredible financial support of our supporters and clients who have committed to ensuring that we are still here to continue to support our clients.   Whether you are staff, therapist, volunteer, client;  or an individual, a team of friends, a community group, or a local business  – you know who you all are so THANK YOU ! ‘

It only remains to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has been a part of the Cancer Support Centre over the 21 + years.  Your dedication to the organization has made it the fantastic supportive welcoming sanctuary  it is today and feedback from our clients says so !

To those who are part of this incredible organization today, we are looking at an exciting time continuing to develop and deliver support services for those affected by cancer.  Thank you for everything you do.

Walking across the threshold of the Cancer Support Centre was one of the hardest things to do; because it meant fully accepting I had cancer. I was in shock. My fight or flight system was working overdrive and, at times, I felt I was losing my mind. The NHS was treating my disease but my spirit needed life support.   Being able to talk to other people who are living with cancer, or going through treatment, is inspirational and reduced my sense of isolation. It also gave me perspective.  When the Centre shut because of the pandemic I felt bereft and cut off; I wondered how I would cope. However, they continued to keep in touch with me when I was on my own with two teenage daughters and this support was crucial.   I really value being able to talk about my recovery, as much as the treatment itself, because there seems to be a stigma discussing cancer. In my experience, once you get back to work, and your clinical treatment ends, everyone thinks you have returned to ‘normal’. But I will never be the same person again. I will be more of who I am. Fully determined to make the most of the life I have. Forever thankful for how the CSC supported me. We are so fortunate to have this wonderful sanctuary.