News

Next meeting

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 4 November 2025 at the usual time of 1.00 pm at the Fusilier Museum.  Our speaker will be Russ Magnall on Safe and Sound Wellbeing

Coping with Fatigue

We had an excellent presentation from Sarah Plant on how to cope with fatigue.  Sarah introduced the 3 P's, Plan, Prioritise and Pace.  When having fatigue it is important to plan ahead but not to overload.  This means prioritising and thinking about what needs to be done, what can be lessened or delegated or simply stop doing.  Even on a good day it is important to pace yourself.  If you go all out you may find the next day you are so exhausted that you are not capable of doing anything.

Sarah also explained where and how people can contact Macmillan and what services they can provide and how they can refer you if required to other services.

Visit to Granada News

A group of us were lucky to visit Granada Studios to have a tour of the building and see how the reports are put together.  People had a chance to sit in the presenter's chair and read the news from the autocue.  We met the technical staff who control the cameras, the links to oher reports, the producer and the presenter all of whom made us very welcome. This was organised by Caroline Whitmore, one of the reporters who is the daughter of Christine Hacking and everyone agreed was a great experience.

Equipment and home adaptations to aid daily living.

We had an excellent talk from Paula Cotton, an ocupational therapist and one of our members on what equipment and minor adaptations could be made to make life easier with daily tasks at home.  Those below £1000 will be provided free of charge from your local authority whereas more major adaptations might be funded from a grant although the latter is means tested.  She not only talked about the benefits but also some issues where equipment and adaptations may not be suitable.

Visit to Bridgewater Gardens

Twelve members of the group visited the garden.  Unfortunately after all the glorious weather we had been having it was very overcast but apart from a little drizzle the rain stayed away and people enjoyed the visit.

Jacob's Feast

We had a most enjoyable Jacob's Feast with members bringing lots of food to share.  As before there was so much that people were able to take home 'goody bags' too.  

All Things Myeloma

Dr Jenna Fielding, Consultant Haematologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary gave us an interesting talk on the developments in Myeloma treatment.  The improvements have led to much better survival rates and new treatments are happening all the time including giving a number of drugs at the same time leading to better periods of remission.  She also answered a number of questions from members of the group.

Bispeficics in Myeloma Treatment 

Amanda Lane, Advanced Nurse Practitioner gave us an interesting talk on this new type of immunological treatmen.  Whereas before the monoclonal treatment attacked the myeloma cell the new treatment links to both the myeloma cell and the t cell (or white cells that provide immunity).  It is a more powerful treatment but does have considerable side effects.  For this reason people are admitted for the first treatment to monitor side effects.  To be eligible you need to have had three previous courses of treatment

Ben Hughes Exercise Referral Officer

At the meeting on 25 February we had an excellent talk from Ben about Live Well Bury and what they do.  He is particulary interested in exercise and also in healthy eating.  He explained the importance of exercise and doing it regularly.  He managed to get the whole group try out some of the exercises and explained that you start with a low number of repetions but gradually build up.  When this gets easy he suggested adding weights of simply a can of beans to make arm raises for example harder.  He distributed leaflets about local walks and also sheets with the exercises.  Everyone really enjoyed the session.

AGM

At our AGM meeting on 13 January we were sadly depleted due to lots of bugs going around so there were only 16 in attendance.  We provided a light lunch which was enjoyed by all and then had the business part of the meeting.  Christine McCleod kindly agreed to take over from Mel as Treasurer with effect from the next meeting.  Normally we choose our outings for the year but as so few were in attendance this was delayed until the next meeting.  Following the business part of the meeting we had a quiz that Simon had kindly prepared.

Christmas Lunch

We had a very enjoyable Christmas Lunch at Owen's restaurant in Ramsbotton on 16 December.  Sadly our numbers were depleted this year due to hospital appointments and people being poorly.  As always the food and service were excellent and everyone seemed to have a good time.

Complementary Therapies

We had an excellent talk from Gillian Brown about Complementary Therapies.  Gillian has her own buisness but also volunteers at St Ann's Hospice.  She involved the group in some light exercises including tapping and meditation.  She also demonstrated indian head massage.  She included in her talk both reflexology and reiki and members of the group shared their experiences of these techniques.  She admitted that there was mixed research about reiki but many found it very beneficial.  The group also had a chance to touch crystals and see which ones appealed to them and what they meant.  The group were so impressed that they enquired about having treatment from her and bring her back in future.

Birds of Prey

At our last meeting we had an excellent talk on Birds of Prey from Russ Hedley.  Russ talked about the different birds of prey found in the UK and how some were still under threat but there had also been some succes in reintroducing them to the country.  Russ was excellent made it very interesting and was excellent at answering questions and responding to comments. 

Jacobs Feast

Our last meeting was where everyone contributed to a Jacob's feast and what a feast it was!  Everyone had a really nice lunch/afternoon tea and lots of goody bags were taken home too.  After the meal we had a quiz with the winning team of Gloria, Margaret, Chris and Ian.

Bury Hospice

We were joined by Jo Denby and Jackie Halstead from the hospice who explained about the services they provide.  Unlike some people's assumptions they deal with other illnesses other than cancer.  Apart from inpatients they also have an outreach service including a sitting service to provide relief to carers.  

Dr Jenna Fielding, Consultant Haematologist, MRI

Dr Felding came to the group and talked about the new developments in treatments for myeloma.  Some are currently only available in clinia trials whilst others are awaiting NICE approval.  Even when approved sometimes these are only available at second or third line of treatment or even more.  She was great at answering a multitude of questions too and has said she is happy to return in future.

Relaxation

Unfortunately Amanda Lane was no longer able to come to talk to the group due to staff shortages.  We were delighted when Linda McKenna stepped in at the last minute to talk to us about relation.  Linda took us through different techniques and also explained some of the services that Bury Cancer Support Centre provides.  

Therapy Dogs

Gill McCartney visited the group with her beautiful Golden Retreiver, Maggie.  Maggie was a great hit and she regularly visits care homes and primary schools where Maggie helps to calm residents and school children.

AGM

We had a great turnout of 26 people at our AGM.  After a buffet lunch we did the business part of the meeting.  We chose our trips for the year: Behind the scenes at Bridgewater Hall, Fish and Chip lunch and visit to Bury Fire and Safety Training Centre.  After the business part of the meeting we played bingo followed by a quiz devised by Simon a group member.