At our Family Support Centre, The Square, we offer specialist wellbeing therapies for both patients and parents of children with cancer. These sessions are often described as “a moment in time”, a rare chance to pause, breathe, and release some of the physical and emotional strain that builds up in the middle of treatment. We spoke to Charlotte, one of our experienced therapists, about the impact of these services and why they matter so much. Q: Tell us about your role! Charlotte: Along with the other Halsa therapists, we offer wellbeing sessions to families affected by childhood cancer. Most of our sessions take place at The Square with parents, but sometimes we do go over to the hospital to do sessions with the children themselves. The whole idea behind the wellbeing sessions is to help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress. Childhood cancer isn’t a stress they can run away from, or fight, so it starts to manifest quite physically in the body. I wish we could take all the pain away but if we can reduce some of these symptoms and give them that moment in time to release – they can be the best they can be in really challenging circumstances. Q: Tell us more about some of the symptoms parents present when you first meet them. Charlotte: When we first see parents, the most common thing we notice is just how much they’re carrying – physically and emotionally. Many are running on empty. Physically, there’s often a lot of tension in the back, neck and shoulders from sleeping in uncomfortable hospital chairs or being afraid to move and disturb their child. Some are feeding babies, others haven’t moved much in days. We also see the effects of poor nutrition, lack of sunlight, dehydration and broken sleep, all of which can impact joints, bone health and general wellbeing, especially in women going through menopause. Even breathing patterns can be affected by stress, with people breathing from the chest instead of the diaphragm. And then there’s the emotional side. Overwhelm is incredibly common. Often, after their first treatment with us, there’s a visible release… tears, or just a deep breath out. It’s like they finally give themselves permission to stop holding it all together. Q: What services do you offer? Charlotte: We offer three main therapies: All of our sessions are informed by research and specialist NHS training in therapy for cancer care. And after each session, we try to give parents some easy things they can do at home and on the ward to encourage self care – teaching breathing exercises, using magnesium salts etc. To hear about the impact of these sessions first hand, we spoke to Sophie: “I first came across the wellbeing sessions when I was in clinic with my son Lenny. One of the Family Support Workers said there was a spare spot for a massage and did I fancy it. Having that break from clinic was amazing, they were such long days in a stuffy, busy, noisy environment so to have that relaxing space boosted my energies to go back to clinic for the rest of the afternoon. I then started coming to the square for reflexology. This isn’t something I had tried before but I loved it. The therapist was so calm and friendly. We would chat about every day things, then I would usually go quiet and nearly fall asleep! I loved the comfort of the therapy, reflexology itself was amazing but it was also about that moment in time to have a quiet moment just me. I didn’t think about Lenny’s treatment or what was going on, it was an hour for me to have a mental break which was exactly what I needed. I can’t thank the therapists or Candlelighters enough for what they do. I never feel like my words do it justice!” All of our wellbeing sessions are only possible thanks to the generosity of the incredible people, communities, and businesses who donate to and fundraise for Candlelighters. Thank you! 
