The Haven Lifeline


The Haven

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Over 50,000 people a year are diagnosed with breast cancer.

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A few years ago, one of my oldest and best friends

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found out that she had breast cancer.

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I'm delighted to be able to tell you that with chemo and radiotherapy,

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she's absolutely fine now,

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but it was a grisly and a terrifying period,

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not just for her, but for her family and her friends too.

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She told me that about the nicest thing

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that had happened to her in that time

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was discovering this place, The Haven.

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This is one of The Haven charity's five centres across the country,

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offering one-to-one programmes of care and support to help

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the thousands of people with breast cancer regain their quality of life.

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That might mean anything from complementary therapies

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to exercise classes and counselling.

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Over 1,000 people in the last year have benefited from their services.

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Pat and her husband, Pete, were running their own business

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and living an active, outdoors life with their daughter,

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here in Shropshire.

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Until in October 2009, everything changed.

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I did actually feel a very, very small lump in my right breast.

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Pete said, "You know, you should really go and get it checked out."

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It wasn't until November, until I got to the doctor's,

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and she sent me straight to the hospital.

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Pat was told she had breast cancer

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and would soon learn it had spread to her liver and spleen.

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She was given chemotherapy,

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a course of medicines to eliminate cancerous cells.

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But it knocked me for six.

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Unfortunately, I just could not stop being sick.

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But at the end of the six months...

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really, my cancer hadn't changed.

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On top of this, she later developed a blood clot on her leg

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and carpal tunnel syndrome,

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which gave her pain in her fingers and toes.

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And that's when I really got to my lowest

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because it just seemed that every day I woke up

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there was something else.

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There's nothing worse than seeing somebody who you love, um, suffer.

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Just nothing that you, as a person, or I, as a husband or father,

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could do to take that pain away...

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HE EXHALES DEEPLY

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As Pat found out at that dark moment,

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cancer has a huge psychological as well as a physical impact.

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The Havens are here to help people through every aspect of cancer.

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Come on, Victoria.

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Pete booked me into their open day and drove me down there.

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They said, "No, OK, I had six months of chemo..."

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"It hadn't gone, but it hadn't got worse," and I came out of there

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feeling positive for the first time in over six months.

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Cos from that day...

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..they turned my life around.

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..Just tuning into the sensations in the body as we do so.

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The Havens offer therapies which help people

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cope with the debilitating effects of chemotherapy.

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..much more within ourselves.

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They also give advice on anything from diet to finances.

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And then, onto the other side, so firmly...

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It's the chance to focus not on the illness, but on life.

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Does that really help you guys

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when you're being battered and bullied by doctors?

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-Yeah.

-Because when you're in treatment

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or being diagnosed or anything,

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it's just a continuum - hospitals, appointment.

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Then, I mean, to come here,

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it really is, it's well named - The Haven.

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And it really is a life-saver, and I mean that.

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-Seriously.

-I believe you.

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I've had lots of therapies. My favourite is acupuncture.

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It helps with the carpal tunnel syndrome.

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I've got two bad knees and I've had trouble walking.

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If I'm feeling bad, I go,

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and I just feel so, so much better when I come out of there.

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-And you couldn't, could you?

-No...

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'Haven nurse Tina Glynn

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'helps people choose their programme of treatments.'

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We see people struggling with the emotional fallout

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of being diagnosed with cancer, side effects...

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Each of our centres is led by a nurse specialist

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and the therapists are not only experts in their own therapy,

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but are experts in helping people with a cancer diagnosis.

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But do they come in alone or do they come in with their families?

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-Um, I would say on the whole, alone...

-Really?

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..but they can do, they can come in with families.

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Anyone affected who's struggling.

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Pat's daughter Victoria has often visited The Haven with her mum.

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Back when Pat was diagnosed, Victoria was only ten.

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The Haven has been incredible.

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The main thing that everyone always says is, "Just ask questions,"

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it's, like, don't be afraid to ask, and no question

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is a stupid question if it's worrying you or anything.

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You walk in and it's just so calm

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and it's done really incredible things for my mum

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and us as a family.

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As everyone here will tell you, a full course of treatments

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really helps to make them feel less like patients

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and more like people again.

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But that costs about £1,000 each

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and The Haven relies on donations for that.

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Jackie works at a thriving publishing company,

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but her life was thrown into turmoil when she was only 32.

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I discovered a lump on Christmas Eve

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and I got engaged to my partner of 13 years on Christmas Day.

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But sad to say that three weeks later,

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we weren't talking about guest lists and venues,

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we were talking about fertility preservation, chemotherapy,

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radiotherapy and mastectomy surgery.

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For Jackie, The Haven was about something beyond

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the medical treatment she was getting from the hospital.

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What The Haven are really quick to say, is that we're not here

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to replace the mastectomy surgery or the chemotherapy, or...

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They understand there is a way to kind of give you your life back

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to get your head right as well as your body.

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The Haven also reaches out to people using the internet

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and Jackie took part in

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an exercise video for the charity's website.

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It was a great opportunity to do

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something that we knew would be

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helpful to people who wouldn't

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be able to make it to a Haven.

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They could be anywhere in the world and they could still benefit

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from The Haven's wise guidance.

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With all the support around her, Jackie felt strong enough

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to take up running, even before her chemotherapy was complete.

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So, I'm training for the London Marathon.

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I did my first ever 10k a week before my last chemo with no hair,

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a PICC line in my arm and my acute oncology card in my back pocket.

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Running really makes me feel alive.

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-Well done!

-Whay!

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As for Pat,

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she and her family have also taken part in fundraising events.

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'We swam a mile in Lake Coniston, which was great fun.'

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Well done, amazing.

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We've done charity balls...

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The latest thing I did was a fashion show.

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Pat managed all of this despite still having cancer.

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It has now spread to her bowel, lungs and stomach

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and she has a scan every few months to monitor it.

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It's not going to get any better, but hopefully,

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it won't get any worse.

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-PETE:

-Aw!

-PAT LAUGHS

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If we hadn't have found The Haven, I honestly do think that

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I would be in a wheelchair all the time

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and our quality of life wouldn't be as good.

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It definitely wouldn't be.

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Cancer takes a lot. It took my right boob, it took my lymph nodes.

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It took my taste buds, it took my hair.

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The Haven gives you something back,

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it gives you a little piece of yourself back.

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Every year, thousands of women receive medical treatment and care

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so that they can survive breast cancer.

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The Haven helps people rebuild their lives with extra support -

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and they really do, I've seen it first-hand.

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So, please, give what you can today and then

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they can help more people with breast cancer live life to the full.

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To donate, please go to the website...

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To give by phone, call...

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Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.

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You can also donate £10 by texting...

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Texts cost £10, plus your standard network message charge

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and the whole £10 goes to The Haven.

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Full terms and conditions can be found at bbc.co.uk/lifeline.

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Or if you'd like to post a donation,

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please make your cheque payable to "The Haven" and send it to...

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..writing "Haven" on the back of the envelope.

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And if you want the charity to claim Gift Aid on your donation,

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please include an e-mail or postal address

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so that they can send you a Gift Aid form.

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Thank you.

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