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Support

Additional resources for patients and families

Seeking help is often the first step towards getting and staying well, but it can be hard to know how to start or where to turn to. It's common to feel unsure, and to wonder whether you should try to handle things on your own. Nevertheless, it is always okay to ask for help. 

You might want to seek help if you're:

  • worrying more than usual
  • finding it hard to enjoy your life
  • having thoughts and feelings that are difficult to cope with, which have an impact on your day-to-day life
  • interested to find more support or treatment.

There are lots of options for support out there, although you might find some are more suitable for you, or more easily available. There's no wrong order to try things in – different things work for different people at different times. Below we have listed some charities known to our service that provide both support and further information and may be a good place to start.  

  • Cancer Support

    There are a number of different organisations, support groups and books to help you cope with cancer and its treatment. You can find support through Cancer Research UK or you can contact them by: 

    • Telephone - Nurse Helpline: 0808 800 4040
    • Completing their Contact Form

    Macmillan Cancer Support is here to do whatever it takes to support people living with cancer. They aim to help everyone with cancer live life as fully as they can, by providing physical, financial and emotional support. They'll do whatever it takes, no matter what a person's needs are, they will listen and support them however they need — big or small. They also provide emotional support for family and friends when someone has been diagnosed with cancer. You can contact them by:  

    • Macmillan Support Line: 0808 808 00 00 (open 7 days a week, 8am to 8pm)
    • Email support line: Your Enquiry 
    • Chat online

    Maggie’s is also a charity providing free cancer support for individuals and relatives in centres across the UK and online. You can contact them by: 

    Liverpool Sunflowers has supported people and their families through cancer, and any other long term illness, for over thirty years. They offer counselling therapies, complementary therapies, fitness assessments, fitness classes as well as wellbeing courses and workshops. You can contact them by: 

    The Black Women Rising cancer support project is the flagship programme of The Leanne Pero Foundation, a registered UK charity offering vital help, information and practical advice for people of colour who have been diagnosed with cancer. You can contact them by: 

    Nubian Skin created the UK’s first breast softies in a variety of skin tones following funding from The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Breast Softies are lightweight primary care forms with fibrefill, designed to offer a balanced figure during the post breast surgery period or during radiotherapy. They can also be used long term.

  • Rare Disease Support

    Having a rare disease does not mean you are alone. However, we recognise that trying to figure out a new rare disease diagnosis, symptoms and possible ongoing screening or treatment can be daunting and sometimes overwhelming.  

    National Organisation for Rare Disorders (NORD) mission is to improve the health and well-being of people with rare diseases by driving advances in care, research and policy. You can contact them by: 

    Genetic Alliance UKis the largest alliance of organisations supporting people with genetic, rare and undiagnosed conditions in the UK. Their members and the people they support are at the heart of everything they do.

    They advocate for fast and accurate diagnosis, good quality care and access to the best treatments. They actively support progress in research and engage with decision makers and the public about the challenges faced by our community.

    They run two long standing projects:

    • Rare Disease UK: A campaign focused on making sure the new UK Rare Diseases Framework is as successful as possible, and to ensure that people and families living with rare conditions have access to a final diagnosis, coordinated care and specialist care and treatment.
    • SWAN UK: The only dedicated support network in the UK for families affected by a syndrome without a name – a genetic condition so rare it often remains undiagnosed.  

    Unique acts as an international group, supporting, informing and networking with anyone affected by a rare chromosome disorder or an autosomal dominant single gene disorder. You can contact them by:

    They also have free Information Guides to specific chromosome and gene disorders, as well as guides translated into various languages.

  • Pregnancy Loss Support

    There is support available through the Honeysuckle Team at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. They provide care for women and their families at Liverpool Women’s Hospital following pregnancy loss at any gestation and early neonatal death. The Team’s office is open Monday – Friday 8am-4pm, you are welcome to contact them either by phone 0151 702 4151 or email honeysuckle@lwh.nhs.uk

    Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) is a national charity helping parents through antenatal screening and its consequences. You can contact them through:

    • Call: 020 7713 7486 (10 – 5.30pm Mon-Fri)
    • Evening service: 8 – 10pm Tues & Thurs (email us to arrange a call)
    • Email: info@arc-uk.org   

    Petals charity provide specialist support for bereaved parents following pregnancy or baby loss. You can contact them through:

    Tommy’s charity offers a wide range of resources, tools and services for families who experience baby loss.

    We would also like to note here that ARC are partnering with the UK charities Petals and Tommy’s to help break the silence around termination for medical reasons (TFMR). ARC, Tommy’s and Petals want to raise awareness of TFMR and ensure families facing or bereaved after TFMR feel included in the pregnancy and baby loss community and know where to access information and support. You can find more information about this at: Break the silence around TFMR 

Mental Health 

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Mental and physical health are equally important components of overall health. 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. It’s important to remember that a person’s mental health can change over time.  

Evidence suggests there are 5 steps you can take to improve your mental health and wellbeing. Trying these things could help you feel more positive and able to get the most out of life. 

You can find further mental health support at: 

NHS talking therapies, or psychological therapies, are effective and confidential treatments delivered by fully trained and accredited NHS practitioners. They can help with common mental health problems like stress, anxiety and depression. You can access these talking therapies for free on the NHS. You can refer yourself directly to an NHS talking therapies service without a referral from a GP, or a GP can refer you. Help is available in person, by video, over the phone or as an online course.
                                                   
The Hub of Hope is the UK’s largest and most comprehensive directory of community mental health services. Hub of Hope is provided by national mental health charity, Chasing the Stigma, and brings local, national, peer, community, charity, private and NHS mental health support and services together in one place for the first time. There are a number of ways to filter and refine searches. Firstly, you can filter results by concern then you also have the option to filter results by the type of support you are seeking, for example NHS only services.                                  

Talk Liverpool are a free NHS service offering psychological therapies to adults in Liverpool who are feeling depressed or anxious. You can get in touch with Talk Liverpool by: 

  • Suicide Prevention

    Suicidal thoughts can be complex, frightening and confusing. The Samaritans are a charity that is not afraid of going into difficult areas with you, and they will take you seriously whether you’re having a few suicidal thoughts or have made clear plans to end your life. You can call them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 116 123. Sometimes writing down your thoughts and feelings can help you understand them better. You can also write them an email at jo@samaritans.org (please note that it may take several days for an email response).

    You can fund further support through Shout Crisis Text Line. Shout is the UK's first and only free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope. If you do not want to talk to someone over the phone, these text lines are open 24 hours a day, every day. Text "SHOUT" to 85258.

    You can also let family or friends know what's going on for you. They may be able to offer support and help keep you safe. There's no right or wrong way to talk about suicidal feelings – starting the conversation with someone is what's important.

    If you find it difficult to talk to someone you know, you could:

    • call your GP – ask for an emergency appointment.
    • call 111 out of hours – they will help you find the support and help you need.

    If you have seriously harmed yourself or you feel that you may be about to harm yourself, call 999 for an ambulance or go straight to A&E or ask someone else to call 999 or take you to A&E

Bereavement and Loss

Grief is a natural response following the loss of someone significant in your life and everyone experiences loss and bereavement at some stage during their lives. However, people experience bereavement in many different ways including emotional numbness, anger, guilt. It’s important to remember there is no ‘normal’ way to grieve.    

Liverpool Bereavement Service are a dedicated bereavement service for children and adults across the Merseyside City Region and provide one-to-one counselling for people who are struggling to cope with a loss. Specialised counselling can help you on your recovery and towards coming to terms with your loss.   

You can contact them by: 

Another charity that offers support around bereavement and loss are Cruse Bereavement Support. Cruse Bereavement Support are the UK's leading bereavement charity.

They offer support through their:

Learning more about the grieving process can help you understand what you're going through. They also provide education and information around how grief affects us emotionally, physically and can affect our mental health. 

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