Employers – How to help your staff who are affected by cancer
29th April 2020
In these strange and uncertain times, employers are more focused than ever on their employees’ wellbeing and mental health.
In these strange and uncertain times, employers are more focused than ever on their employees’ wellbeing and mental health. Whether staff are still working in the office, have transitioned to home working or have been furloughed, some circumstances do not change. If an employee is living with a cancer diagnosis, is shielding and awaiting information on treatment, it is understandable they may feel anxious. Perhaps they are currently caring for a partner who has cancer, or can’t see their loved one who is receiving treatment in hospital. The good news is that, as an employer, you can help in a way you may not have thought of.
For the last 30 years, Cavendish Cancer Care have provided a safe haven for cancer patients and their families from diagnosis, through treatment and beyond. We have had to change the way we work in recent weeks, but we can still be there for the many local families who need us at this time. By adapting the way we work to use the phone and video calling, we can still support them by offering therapies such as counselling and art therapy.
We also continue to offer a well-established peer-to-peer telephone support service, Cavendish Cancer Buddies: https://cavcare.org.uk/about-us/cancer-buddies/.
CEO, Emma Draper, explains ‘Our message has always been that we believe no one should face cancer alone. At a time when we must be physically more distant from each other, it is extremely important for people to know that we are here to help. Cancer doesn’t just go away, and there are families out there who really need our help right now.’
How can you help your staff and colleagues?
Share this post with them, or point them in the direction of our website at www.cavcare.org.uk, where we also have a handy self-referral form. Alternatively, tell them they can call us on 0114 278 4600 or email us on info@cavcare.org.uk. Whichever way they choose to get in touch, we will get back to them within three working days.
The good news is that there are also still lots of ways you can support us and ensure that we can be here for the local families that so desperately need us during this extremely difficult time. Whether that’s joining our 250 Challenge, taking part in some office fundraising or simply donating to our Cavendish Cares Campaign. Just £11 will pay for an art therapy kit to help a child come to terms with a cancer diagnosis in their family, and £27 will fund an hour’s counselling for a cancer patient who’s living alone and struggling.