Richard Simcock, Chief Medical Officer at Macmillan Cancer Support, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“A fabulous day at the Macmillan Cancer Support Open House. A novel initiative created to provide a space for connection and understanding.
The imagination (and attention to detail) in recreating a home environment was not just an exercise in nostalgia it was a successful experiment in making good conversations about uncomfortable truths happen safely and constructively.
I was able to witness panels of speakers share their experience with honesty in a room full of empathy, but not without challenge for Macmillan and the wider system.
I shared the family sofa with Faaria and Vicky who spoke of their cancer diagnoses and how Macmillan had helped them find voice and calm. They had both been supported by Macmillan nurses and both have found comfort and companionship in our Online Communities. But, they also talked about medical silencing, consultations filled with impenetrable jargon and the resources of strength they had needed at the most difficult times. They reminded me powerfully of the work still to be done.
Hillary Weaver from our Cancer Information Development Nurses highlighted our resources and our ambitions and I was grateful to Reuben Christian for his sincerity and sensitivity in steering our conversation.
There were tears (with vintage gilded tissue boxes on hand!), but there was also laughter and a strong sense of a powerful community growing together.
From the impeccable attention to detail, to the conversations over food at a literal kitchen table, and the meeting of old friends and new it was a genuinely energising day.”
More posts featuring Richard Simcock.