Breast cancer charity awarded funding to help women in Newham

Breast cancer support charity, Cancerkin[1], has been awarded a grant of £9,915 from the Big Lottery Fund[2] Awards for All scheme to provide support a unique support service for women with breast cancer in Newham.

The grant will help provide complimentary therapies such as yoga, dance, art, pilates and massage to patients receiving treatment for breast cancer as well as supporting the overall running costs and sustainability of the project.

Cancerkin’s work in Newham is aimed at giving women with breast cancer access to the services that Cancerkin provides at its centre which is attached to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead. Cancerkin provides 16 complementary therapies as well as giving patients information about the care and management of breast cancer.

Victoria Todd, Chief Executive of Cancerkin said:

“We are delighted by this grant. Cancerkin can now further develop its outreach programme. It means that we can pay for patients to come to our sanctuary in Hampstead in addition to taking our restorative therapies to Newham. We can now provide information to women with breast cancer in Newham which is relevant and focussed on their needs. It also enables us to invest in skills for the future funding of our work in the East End of London.”

Cancerkin works collaboratively with local community and health groups and with local hospitals to ensure that it compliments and does not duplicate their work.

[1] Founded in 1986, Cancerkin was the first dedicated holistic breast cancer charity based on a hospital site (the Royal Free Hospital in North London). All of our services are provided free of charge and we receive no income from the NHS or other statutory bodies. The charity works beyond the scope of the NHS and is concerned with treatment, supportive care, education and research, with the emphasis very much on treatment, care and support, not only of breast cancer patients, but also their families. It was established on the basis that in addition to medical treatment, patients and their families need emotional and practical support through the trauma of diagnosis, treatment and its aftermath; our ethos is very much to treat the patient and not just the cancer. In 2008, Cancerkin gave over 3,100 episodes of care, therapy, information and support, including various complementary therapies, patient support group meetings, Lymphoedema Clinic, drop in information library, courses, lectures and conferences and one to one support. Cancerkin provides all their services free of charge and they receive no income from the NHS or other statutory bodies.

[2] Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme aims to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need. You can apply to Awards for All only if you are a community group, not for profit group, Parish or Town Council, health body, or school. Grants ranging from £300 to £10,000 are available to fund a specific project or activity. The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.

Would you like to work at Cancerkin?

We are recruiting an office manager/research assistant. Click here to see details.

A celebration of Mr Santilal Parbhoo and the Intrabeam Handover

On 8th October, Cancerkin celebrated the formal handover of the Intrabeam Machine to the Royal Free Hospital and honoured the work of our much loved Chairman, Mr Santilal Parbhoo, who stepped down from the Chair and became our Life President.
The Intrabeam machine is part of Cancerkin’s commitment to research breast cancer and its treatment. Cancerkin raised over £200,000 to buy the machine to study the effect of a single dose of intra-operative radiotherapy as against several weeks of conventional radiotherapy. The study is part of a multi centre international study known as TARGIT and during the evening Mo Keshtgar, Consultant Surgical Oncologist and member of the TARGIT team, updated the guests on exciting developments in the study. He, along with Trustee Chair of the hospital, Dominic Dodd and new Chair of Cancerkin, Dr John Carrier, also praised the pioneering work of Santy Parbhoo at this hospital and in the creation of Cancerkin and its renowned lymphoedema clinic. Santy was presented with a silver photograph frame as a small token of appreciation by his fellow trustees and after his response and thanks to those with whom he has worked over the years, guests enjoyed champagne and nibbles!


To see more photos please view our flicker page

We're now on Facebook

You can now keep updated with Cancerkin via Facebook.

Visit our facebook page and show your support by becoming a fan of Cancerkin.

Hypnotherapy and Spiritual Healing treatments at the Cancerkin Centre

On 2nd November, we are starting Hypnotherapy treatments at the Cancerkin Centre. We have also started Spiritual Healing sessions and appointments are available; however, if you would like to know more about it, Kathryn Scorza is holding a group meeting on 17th November, where people can have a 15 minute ‘taster’ session. To book an appointment or for more information on these or any other treatments, please contact Jean Hafezi (020 7830 2323) at the Cancerkin Centre.

Floris Event - 1st October 2009

Floris, the renowned luxury perfumers, held a soiree at their flagship store in Jermyn Street on 1st October 2009 in aid of Cancerkin, to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month . Guests were entertained with pink refreshments and live entertainment, with a generous lucky dip leaving little to be desired! There was also a raffle on the night, with prizes donated by a plethora of stores including Swarovski, Duchy Originals and Fortnum & Mason.
The tasteful event was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended, who left with the knowledge that they had supported a good cause, had enjoyed a fun evening – and were smelling great too!
Floris donated 20% of all sales on the night to Cancerkin. In addition, they will be donating to Cancerkin 20% of sales from their new eau de parfum - Rose Musquee- and their Jasmine and Rose scented candle during the entire month of October.
All at Cancerkin are most grateful to Floris for putting on the evening and for their ongoing support.

Patient Support Group 30 June 2009

Cancerkin hosted one of its most exciting events this summer when we invited Laurel Herman, recognised internationally as an innovator, authority and thought-leader in the fields of impact, image, confidence and personal development, to the June Patient Support Group. 

Over 30 women turned up for a day of pampering, fun and relaxation which included having their hair cut and restyled, nails manicured, consultations on image improvement and advice on nutrition. All the women received advice on how to make the best of their appearance and how to think positively about the future. 

Whilst the event was meant to finish at 3, the last happy but exhausted Cancerkin member left the Centre at 5.30! See the flickr photo gallery for copies of our smiling members.

Paris Marathon 2009

PARIS Marathon Sunday 5th April 2009

Alex Pierre-Traves

Alex, who originally hales from Toronto, Canada has been a free lance marketing consultant and is currently a law student in London. In April he ran the Paris Marathon for Cancerkin in 4hours 16 minutes and raised sponsorship of £1544 - a superb result. Paris was his third city marathon after New York and windy Chicago. He hopes to run the London Marathon next year in support of Cancerkin. Many congratulations and thanks Alex.

We've had a makeover!




Today saw the launch of our new-look website cancerkin.org.uk.

We would love to hear what you think, so please leave a comment below or email us at info@cancerkin.org.uk.

Cancerkin's Sixth Hyde Park Sponsored Walk

Please show your support on Sunday 14th June 2009

Twice around the Serpentine (approx. 6miles/10km)

Starts at 10.30am
(until 2.30pm)

Proceeds in support of Cancerkin's supportive care, rehabilitation, education and research programmes for people affected by breast cancer.

For more information call; 020 7830 2323

Email info@cancerkin.org.uk