Anxiety heightened for cancer patients in lockdown

ANXIETY among people diagnosed with cancer has risen during lockdown, a north-east charity boss has said.

Dr Colette Backwell, chief executive of CLAN Cancer Support, said clients have been hit hard by the loss of face-to-face support after the temporary closure of drop-in centres.

She said the charity’s telephone and counselling services have supported hundreds of people who are worried about their own or a family member’s cancer diagnosis and treatment as COVID-19 weighs on the NHS.

Dr Backwell, who also chairs the Grampian Cancer Partnership Group and sits on the NHS Cancer Strategy Group, said: "The pandemic lockdown has had a major effect on us all, with fears of unemployment, family tensions and home-schooling requirements. However, if you have a cancer diagnosis, those fears are multiplied exponentially.

"When someone receives a cancer diagnosis, they are anxious to begin treatment and having this paused or altered in some way, even with the reassurance from their medical team, can be incredibly worrying."

CLAN set up the telephone support service to deliver counselling and launched an online resource centre in March.

Dr Backwell added: "Our local centres are a place of refuge and comfort, and cancer patients and their families come in regularly to talk to people who understand what they are going through and can help them build the resilience to deal with it.

"Losing that contact has made life very difficult for many of our clients. We set up the telephone and counselling services to ensure CLAN was still able to support people diagnosed with cancer, and we have been able to support not only our existing clients but also people coming to us for the first time."

Demand for CLAN’s services is high and it has seen a significant drop in income due to the cancellation of key fundraising events. To donate visit www.clanhouse.org/donate.

The CLAN Cancer Support phone number in Moray is 01343 544132.

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