CHANGE has been working with people with learning disabilities who have beat cancer to develop a series of easy read books to support others to know what to expect if they get cancer. There are 3 books covering Symptoms and Screeining, Diagnosis and Treatment and Palliative Care and Bereavement. There is also an accompanying series to support carers and professionals to give better support to people with learning disabilities in their care. The books are distributed by Macmillan Cancer Support be.macmillan.org.uk/be/s-42... and have won the 2012 BMA Patient Information Award.
Based on the experiences of cancer patients with learning disabilities CHANGE has worked with Macmillan Cancer Support to develop the HOPE Course. This course is delivered by trained staff with learning disabilities and gives people with learning disabilities, living with cancer the chance to access the kind of peer led talking therapies that are so often denied them. Those who have attended the course have found it uplifting and empowering, but sadly despite extensive advertising through Cancer Networks few people with learning disabilities have been supported to access this course. We would ask anyone who knows or supports people with learning disabilities who have cancer to please give them the opportunity to participate in what is a positive and uplifting course.
People with learning disabilities are often shielded from things that are not nice, but wheather you have heard of cancer or not you can get it and the effects are the same. Please lets ensure that the care and treatment that people with learning disabilities get is also the same. We cannot choose how we are born but we do have a right to think about how we want to die. Check out our DVD 'We are Living Well But Dying Matters changepeople.co.uk/showCont...
done for Dying Matters the National Council for Palliative Care and the National End of Life Care Programme.
