Here at Pickering, we talk about how we support friends and family of people with cancer and regular visitor, Kirsten, has been coming along to Pickering most Fridays for more than two years.
“The first time I came to Pickering, I was supporting a friend and then I accompanied my Mum,” she explains. “Mum was only able to come a couple of times but she really valued it. She felt she was with people who completely understood what she was going through; everyone was so caring and supportive. Mum also appreciated the dietary advice she was given at that time, as well as benefiting from some hand reflexology.”
Kirsten adds: “Pickering was a place she could be her, be completely honest and not have to be strong.”
Today, Kirsten’s life is busy and she doesn’t have a lot of time for herself, so Fridays are her ‘life saver’.
“To be honest, just to sit quietly on one of the sofas and have somebody make me a cup of tea is just so lovely,” she says. “Pickering is somewhere I am cared for and it gives me the strength I need to get through the next week.”
When she comes in, Kirsten will often benefit from one of our therapy sessions – such as counselling and acupuncture.
“I feel the benefit of both of those,” she says. “Because I usually come on a Friday, I have got to know the volunteers and some of the visitors who also come on that day, which is nice. The volunteers are such a fantastic support to me.”