Our Services

Advice and Information Service

We provide information and support to people living with cancer, as well as to their carers, their families and their friends.  We will be able to find information and professional advice about your condition, your treatment and the services and benefits available to you and  will signpost you to other specialist organisations where appropriate.

Wednesday and Friday Drop-ins (weekly)

For people with cancer, their carers, families and friends every Wednesday and Friday from 1.30pm - 4.30pm. We offer information, support, complementary therapies, counselling and refreshments.

Lymphoedma Clinic

The Lymphoedema Clinic is held on Thursday afternoons and is staffed by an experienced Lymphoedema Nurse. The clinic is available to people living with cancer who have been diagnosed with lymphoedema.

If you wish to access the service you will need to obtain a referral letter from either your GP, Community Nurse, Consultant or Breast Care Nurse. Upon receipt of the letter please bring it into The Nightingale and we will forward it onto the Lymphoedema Nurse who will contact you with an appointment.

Prostate Cancer Support Group

The Prostate Specialist Nurses from Chase Farm & Barnet Hospitals invite you to a group discussion regarding prostate cancer and some of the issues surrounding treatment and management. The Prostate Cancer Support Group will take place twice a year, please contact the Nightingale Centre for further details.

Topics covered will be:

• What is Prostate Cancer?
• What are the options for treatments?
• Why one treatment is more appropriate than others.
• What is Gleason Grading and what does it mean?
• Is there sex after prostate cancer?
• What is the difference between Zoladex and Prostap
• Open forum for questions and answers

Counselling

Our counsellors can offer the space and time to talk, to express fears and worries and to explore a way to deal with life. The sessions are arranged by appointment and clients are initially given a regular weekly slot for six weeks. All of our counselling sessions take place in a private room and are confidential.

Complementary Therapies

We also offer complementary therapies for service users at each drop-in session and throughout the week which includes acupuncture, massage,reflexology, chiropody and  Indian head massage . The treatments take place in a private room.

Homesitting

Each homesitting volunteer is asked to sit for a minimum of 2 hours per week with a person living with cancer, to act as a befriender who can give the patient and their carer some respite time.
We ask that the homesitters are responsive to the needs of the person they are sitting with. You, your homesitter, your carer and The Nightingale will decide how best we can help in each individual situation.

Transport Service

For many people who are living with cancer, the journey to and from hospital appointments and our drop-ins can be a difficult thing to arrange and handle. If you need transport for a medical appointment or for one of our drop-in sessions we may be able to provide a driver. We also have limited use of vehicles with wheelchair access.

HOPE Course (Helping Overcome Problems Effectively) for cancer patients

Getting a cancer diagnosis can be a very difficult experience that affects you in many ways. This may include anxiety and depression through to fatigue and other forms of distress. However, there is much you can do to reduce the stress of living with cancer and improve the quality of your life.

More and more people are surviving cancer in the UK due to improvements in treatment and diagnosis. But surviving the disease is not the only hurdle to be overcome.

Many survivors struggle with long-term health problems caused by their treatment and others need psychological support to cope with the fear of the disease recurring, as well as problems with self-esteem and body image. The Nightingale Cancer Support Centre in collaboration with Macmillan Cancer Support, and the University of Coventry are launching a six week course that helps people who have had cancer to move on with life after treatment It runs for 6 weeks, two and a half hours per session. It is called the HOPE COURSE (Helping Overcome Problems Effectively) and concentrates on refocusing on inner strengths and resilience to support people to cope emotionally, psychologically and practically.

Who is the Course for?

The course is open to all people diagnosed with cancer and who are over the age of 18 years and have finished their treatment.

When is the next course?

There will be two courses in 2013 one in the Spring and one in Autumn. Places on the course need to be booked in advance, in order to guarantee your place we recommend booking early. To secure a place you will need to attend The Nightingale Cancer Support Centre to ensure that this course is right for you. You can contact us directly or ask your hospital team to refer you.

If you are interested please contact the Nightingale Cancer Support Centre and we will keep you informed of our planned course dates.

Please call us on 0208 366 4333 or email us at information@nightingalesupport.org.uk if you would like further information on any of the above.

Please click on this link to see the course leaflet