We all need someone to fight our corner, especially when we are vulnerable. We need someone to champion our cause, listen, challenge decisions and stand up for our best interests.
As there are over 200 types of cancer, it would be impossible to know the ins and outs of even a couple of these which is why Cancer Champions focus on the cancer that resonates most strongly with them.
For me, that’s head and neck cancer. I don’t profess to be an expert but in the 16 years I’ve been going through two different Stage IV cancers, I’d like to think my experience counts for something. I know about how to communicate my views and I understand the pros and cons of different treatment options.
Cancer Champions act as a sort of patient advocate or patient navigator by helping othering navigate the healthcare system, point people in the right direction and provide advice and guidance. They are also a valuable source of first-hand insights, reassurance, hope and optimism.
Being a Cancer Champion is similar to being a hospital ‘wingman’. They support you, they ‘have your back’. It’s about being there for someone when they need it the most.
Cancer Champions aren’t paid and this is not an official or professional position. If only it was. It really should be.
As a volunteer, Cancer Champions write their own job description and do as much or as little as they are comfortable with.
Some Cancer Champions (who have come out the other side of treatment and are now in a ‘good place’) might help a friend to set up appointments, gather information, run errands, attend scans, attend appointments, help raise questions, and help with getting financial, legal, and social support. They might also involve themselves in fundraising and/or give talks about their particular type of cancer to raise awareness, raise its profile and get people talking about cancer.
A few names that spring to mind are Tony Collier BEM who does an amazing job of raising awareness of Prostate Cancer, Chris Johnson who does sterling work raising money and awareness for Children With Cancer UK, and Kevin Donaghy who works tirelessly for others and keeping hope on the radar through his book featuring 39 personal stories of cancer. Tony, Chris and Kevin are all Cancer Champions and standard-bearers that do it their own way and they all have the very real and raw experience of cancer too.
On a personal level, I combine my role as a patient having active treatment with being a source of help for others going through head and neck cancer and that involves being a consistent source of empowerment, empathy and enthusiasm. This involves not just speaking up for someone else when appropriate but advocating for myself too!
The single most important role I perform is providing daily encouragement and motivation through the messages I post on X. This way, what I have to say and share reaches lots of people rather than just one or two people I know at hospital.
Being a Cancer Champion gives you the opportunity to share the latest ideas, news and recommendations that someone newly diagnosed just won’t be able to even think about as they are too overwhelmed. Just hearing the word ‘cancer’ puts you into stun mode.
For example, as a head and neck patient, I have a vested interest in knowing what the latest guidelines are in relation to my condition and I want to be clued up and ‘in the know’ for my own best interests and those of others. Why? This is my life and I need to know what the current thinking is. I can also absorb that and share it with others.
Everyone needs a Cancer Champion.