HNChelp now has a twitter account
@hnchelp
Many of our contacts and collaborators, such as NALC, HPV Action and NTSP, have accounts.
Twitter provides a medium for supporting them and also adding our own perspective.
It may take a bit of time to get up to speed however!!!!
Financial Matters
Broadly speaking expenditure has matched our income, despite an increase in activity. As usual members have generously supported us with donations and contributions to the costs of activities. The Rotary Club of Clay Cross supported us once again and we held two fundraising events – a coffee morning and a hospital stall. We have split the funds generated at these events between our group and NALC, as previously agreed.
Meetings and Membership
The usual pattern of two meetings a month has continued, with extra social activities on top. We have welcomed many new members during the year, including many who travel considerable distances to be with us. Several members are also involved with Heads2Gether, who meet in Nottingham, and we are building links between the two groups.
Special Events
For many the highlight was the trip to the National Memorial Arboretum, at Alrewas and we intend to visit again. The Coffee Morning, organised for European Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week, was well attended and raised significant funds. In July we had another canal trip and in December travelled to Matlock, for the Victorian Market.
Our afternoon meetings saw several visiting speakers. In April a team of engineers developing a new method of speech for laryngectomees gave us a presentation. At two other meetings we welcomed suppliers of larynegctomee items.
Work With Hospitals
We had a stand at the Information Point at Chesterfield Royal in June, raising funds and awareness of head and neck cancer symptoms. The SLTs made several requests for us to support patients, and some have become members. The ENT ward is now using the boogie board we gave to them and other boards have been given to individual patients.
Our links with QMC in Nottingham continue to develop and they have extended to all our members the services of a late effects clinic, whether or not their treatment was in Nottingham.
Some members are supporting patients at Kings Mill Hospital, in North Notts.
We also have had and have responded to requests for support from patients who have contacted us through our website, which has had over 12.000 visitors during the year.
Local Links
We continue to support and work with the Nenna Kind Cancer Drop-In Support Centre, which runs a minibus to Weston park hospital, for patients needing radiotherapy. We have been a member of NDVA for many years and will continue to be so after its recent evolution to cover a wider area. As mentioned above we have started to link to a support group in Nottingham.
National Links
Our Secretary continues as President of NALC and to work with NICE on two head and neck cancer committees. A large CRUK funded clinical trial, CompARE, which we supported as its sought to get started is now successfully halfway through its recruitment phase. Our members have once again made a significant contribution to NALC.
Thanks
34SP continue to host our website for free, since we are a registered charity, and we send them our thanks. The Olde House and its staff are excellent hosts for our group and are unfailingly helpful.
The Throat Cancer Foundation is preparing to seek a judicial review of the policy that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have to not vaccinate boys for HPV, despite the fact that the vaccination is given to girls at age 12/13.
They believe that the government has a moral obligation to protect the health of boys, and that by not making protection against HPV available to them they are completely ignoring the suffering caused by and lives lost to cancers caused by HPV. 1 in 20 of all cancers are caused by HPV and 2,000 men a year in the UK develop one of these. As a safe vaccine is available these cases are totally preventable.
Their lawyers have offered to represent them for free due to the importance of this case, but they will still be liable for the court costs. It is expected these to be ring fenced at £15,000. They have launched a CrowdJustice campaign to raise these funds. PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THEM