Category Archives: Cancer

Remembering romance this Valentine’s Day

by Izzy Partridge
Marie Curie Healthcare Assistant – South East

With Valentine’s Day coming up, sometimes I think about people I’ve cared for in the past and one story really stands out.

A few years ago I cared for an elderly man who lived with his wife. They were one of those lovely old couples who make you want to be like them when you’re that age. They didn’t have any children, but had lived a great life together – going on holiday and really living life to the full.

They were still very affectionate, she would sit and hold his hand; they’d have a little kiss and cuddle in his bed together. Sometimes people seem afraid to touch their loved ones when they are ill, like they are too fragile to hug, so it was lovely to see.

The torment of trying to be a good granny AND a dutiful daughter

Top author Rosie Staal says women like her are in despair

  • 92-year-old mother Jean is beset by Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, hearing loss and poor sight 
  • Rosie longs to spend more time with grandsons Joe, 5 and Zach, 3, and her two-year-old granddaughter Poppy
  • Women over 60 make up nearly a third of all hospital admissions for anxiety – juggling caring for elderly parents, grandchildren and ageing or ill partners
  • Rosie worries she is also neglecting her husband David 

By Rosie Staal

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On the train heading home to Dorset from London last week, I leaned my head against the cold window, closed my eyes and savoured a rare moment to draw breath.

After spending three days with my grandsons Joe, five, and Zach, three, I could still hear their joyful voices in my ears and feel their trusting little hands in mine.

Turning my back as they wave goodbye haunts me after every visit, causing a physical jolt to my heart.

Dying need ‘free social care’, cancer campaigners say

Providing free social care could save £69m a year on the care of cancer patients alone, the report says.

Free end-of-life social care is needed to save the NHS in England money and improve patient care, campaigners say.

Macmillan Cancer Support says it could save the NHS in England £69m a year on the care of cancer patients alone.

Its analysis is based on a review of patient surveys, official NHS spending data and interviews with senior decision-makers.

Social care is currently means-tested, but ministers are considering providing it to everyone at the end of life.

About half of people end up dying in hospital despite eight in 10 saying they would prefer to die at home.