We are very grateful to receive ongoing support from the Dry July Foundation to continue providing writing therapies as a monthly face to face and/or Zoom program with virtual connections in between. This class is offered to people whose cancer had returned and who are having ongoing chemotherapy, radiation or other treatment.
The writing class supports participants to compose letters, poetry and stories for their families and friends about their lives. This is sometimes very difficult for people to undertake, so having support is integral to the success of the program. In addition, this class provides a safe place for people to talk about their feelings, worries and share their thoughts with others going through the same/similar journey.
Thank you to Dry July Foundation and all Dry July participants for your ongoing support. Without you, none of this would be possible.
Sadly, Meg, who was an integral part of writing therapies through running our classes, passed away in February 2022. She leaves an incredible legacy of friendship, love, creation and support at Choices. In honour of Meg and in recognition of the importance of writing therapy for both patients and their families, ur intention is to continue these workshops with the support of Dry July.
Writing therapies have been proven to support and positively influence a person’s wellbeing and rehabilitation during and after cancer treatment. The anonymous feedback below has been provided to us by our participants.
• “I always wanted to write things for my family, I am so pleased I did this, Meg bought lots of tools and resources for us. We did exercises to get us writing, looked at quotes, listened to music and talked together. Two hours disappeared in a flash”.
• “It felt good to write and let go of any self-judgment during the sessions”.
• “Connecting together and realising we all had similar fears and concerns was helpful to me, I felt so alone with my diagnosis. Meg helped me express this in writing, being with like minded caring people allowed me to be able to share and not add to my family’s load. Thank you Meg and Choices, and thankyou to all the people who did dry July to make a difference to people with cancer. “
• “This writing course has provided me with the tools and information I need to write. But most of all it has provided me with a safe environment to become more confident in writing. I was somewhat fearful towards writing in a way that was unguarded and unedited. Until I learnt through this course to just write. Just write rather than put it off or wait for the idea to write about, just start writing and see where it goes. The exercises undertaken helped me practice this and realise that it works. I have used the skills outside these workshops to help with any emotional issues that I find hard to verbally articulate”.
