December 2011

 

Once again, another year has flown by but we can safely report that the Hertfordshire Cancer Support Group for Women has had an enjoyable, fun and informative twelve months.

 

Our year began when we were delighted to welcome back our Consultant Breast Surgeon, Mr Peter Crane, who updated us on developments in our cancer care and services.  

 

In February, busy trading in our Market Place raised funds for the Group whilst giving members the opportunity to “donate this and buy that”.

 

Our Summer Supper at the Whistling Duck Restaurant just outside Hertford was a great success, with good food and lots of chatter and laughter.

 

Other highlights of our programme included Peter Blackett of Umbanda and our meeting with Elizabeth Garrett Anderson.  It was wonderful to see so many ladies beating out a rhythm on one of Peter’s many drums whilst Louise Reed as Dr Garret Anderson gave us a wonderful insight into what it must have been like to defy the conventions of her day.

 

A special thank you to our generous friends from Clinique at John Lewis who once again treated us to a most wonderful pamper evening.  It was a pleasure to see our members having such a good time.

 

We plan to end our year on 7th December with a very pleasant Christmas Social with some delicious refreshments and impromptu entertainment.  It promises to be a super evening and a lovely way to close this year’s programme.

 

We have been pleased to welcome new members to the HCSGW this year and know that they have found the Group both enjoyable and helpful.   We have also had some new volunteers join the Committee, bringing with them some much needed new energy and commitment to the continuing success of our Group in offering support and friendship to those affected by cancer.  

 

We wish all our members and readers happiness and good health in 2012.

 

December 2010

 

We have had a wonderful year welcoming all our friends, new and old, to the Hertfordshire Cancer Support Group for Women.  Whatever our cancer experience has been, it’s great to get together.

 

Highlights from our busy and successful 2010  programme have included:

 

• -  A fund raising event at Panshanger when we launched 250 balloons into
•    the summer skies.
• -  Our Macmillan funded evening at the Wild Cat Sanctuary.  Purrrrrfect!  
• -  The fun we had when Peter Blackett of Umbanda Drumming allowed us
•     to play with his vast collection of percussion instruments!
• -   A fascinating introduction to the life and times of successful (and rich)
•     medieval business women by our own Elizabeth Benns.  

 

The continued support of our wonderful Breast Cancer Nurses, Patricia and Catherine and their fellow CNS’s, has been much appreciated. 

 

Our 2011 Programme shows that we have many more good times planned for the year.

 

July 2010 

“Spring Flowers” was how we titled our April meeting, and what an appropriate description.  Two lovely ladies from The Old Welwyn Florist showed us how to make simple, but eye-catching, arrangements, and after much fun and laughter every lady went home with something she had made herself.  There were also three truly extravagant arrangements which they donated as raffle prizes – three lucky members went home even more laden.

 

In May we had what we term a “social evening”, with teas and coffees, soft drinks, nibbles and much chat and sharing of recent experiences.

 

Our June meeting saw us back, joined by family, partners and friends, at Panshanger Aerodrome.  After a tasty supper of pizza and salad, followed by chocolate brownies, we all trooped outside and released 250 helium filled balloons into a clear and windy sky.  Every balloon had a label with the name of the person who had purchased it, and space for the lucky finder to fill in where it had been found, and asking that they return it. What joy when some actually did get returned to us, and what surprise at how far they had floated – up into Lincolnshire and even into East Yorkshire!  Everyone thanked the staff at Panshanger for helping to make this evening a truly roaring success.

 

Rajiv Bhattacharjee of Macmillan was our speaker for our July meeting.  He gave us an insight into the many facets of Macmillan’s work, and a lot of our members were surprised at the sheer breadth of the help that this organisation is able to provide.  Raj’s talk provoked some interesting questions, and helped our members to see where they could go for the right advice and support.

 

The coming months see us visiting a sanctuary in Old Welwyn for snow leopards and other wild cats, followed by a summer BBQ.  And we are all looking forward to a very different evening in September when we will be drumming and making music together. 

 

Watch this space.

 

 

March 2010

  

Here we are in the middle of March and really enjoying seeing the snowdrops and daffodils brightening the countryside and chasing away the winter blues.  With Easter just around the corner, we are sure that many of you will be out in your gardens, or indoors sorting out your wardrobes (why have all the clothes shrunk over this past four months), and dreaming of warm summer evenings to come.

 

We have had two very successful meetings of the HCSGW since our last update.  February’s “Your Market Place” was well attended despite the weather.  We had encouraged our members to bring along items that they would be happy to sell to help raise funds for the Group – a “tasteful bring and buy”.  Indeed it turned out to be a bargain hunters delight and ladies were seen staggering out with armfuls of books, homemade bread and jam, pots of daffodils and assorted accessories.  Not only did we raise a good sum of money, but we also had a lot of fun along the way.

 

Our March meeting saw the promised and welcome return of our Consultant Surgeon, Peter Crane, who updated us on developments surrounding the Trust’s plans for the delivery of cancer services and the potential impact on the Breast Unit.  It wasn’t easy listening, especially as we are all so passionate about the centre of excellence that Mr Crane and his team have built.  But it is early days, so we will be watching what happens with great interest.

 

Roisin Furlong, from Breast Cancer Care and Headstrong also talked to us about the many and varied services and types of information that are available free of charge to all.  Indeed, we have always handed out the BCC literature during our October events to mark Breast Cancer Awareness month.

 

The highlight of the evening, however, was when Mr Crane presented a bouquet of flowers to one of our members, Ellen, who was celebrating her 80th birthday that day.  We all sang Happy Birthday to her and then helped her to eat the delicious birthday cake so beautifully made by another member, Kath.

 

Friendship and support – it says it all.

 

 

Our January 2010 Newsletter

Dear Friend

 

We do hope that the New Year has started well for you in spite of the weather!

 

Our January meeting went ahead as planned, and even though travelling conditions were difficult, quite a few members came to hear Mr Crane give a brief overview of Cancer Services within our NHS Trust.

 

Understandably, many of you were unable to join us, but we are pleased to say that there will be another opportunity for you to meet Mr Crane. He has agreed to join us for our meeting on March 10th when other Cancer Health Professionals will be visiting us.

 

The February Group meeting, 'Our Market Place', will be a "bring and buy" evening to benefit the Group. So, do come along on the 10th for a chat and, hopefully, pick up a bargain!

 

 

looking forward to seeing you.

 

The Committee.

 

Our December 2009 Newsletter

How time flies.  Here we are, almost at the end of what has been another very busy and successful year for our Group.

Highlights of our programme have ranged from a Magician in September to a very energetic performance of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” at our end of year party.  And who will forget our lovely ex-Vernon Girl and her Rock & Roll stories! 

We have enjoyed two wonderful outings this year.  The first to “Simply Oak” in June had many of us wondering whether we could refurnish our homes.  The second was a very special evening spent at Panshanger Aerodrome where we were treated like royalty by the staff and flying team.  Indeed, several ladies won a flight over the local area and you can imagine the excitement and delight on the day.

It has been a delight to welcome new ladies to our Group this year and we all look forward to enjoying each other’s company over the coming years.  And we remember with affection our dear friends who are no longer with us.

You’ll see from our enclosed programme that we have planned many more good times in 2010.  You will also notice a slight change to our logo, and to our name. 

These changes reflect the decision of the Group to open our doors to all women affected by any type of cancer.  This endeavour has the full support of the Clinicians and Cancer Nurse Specialists who are very pleased to be able to offer their patients (ladies) additional, non medical support.   We believe that this shows a high level of trust in and regard for our Group.

Our wonderful Breast Cancer Nurses, Patricia & Catherine, will continue to support us and attend some of our meetings, and we look forward to meeting some of the other Cancer Nurse Specialists during the year.

So, business as usual!  We look forward to seeing you at our first meeting of 2010, on 13th January, when our Consultant Surgeon, Peter Crane, will be joining us.

Thank you all for making the East Herts Breast Cancer Support Group so special and here’s to more of the same for the Hertfordshire Cancer Support Group for Women.