Shirley, who’s 93 and lives near Carlisle, has terminal bowel cancer and attends Eden Valley Hospice’s Day Services regularly to help manage her symptoms and speak with our expert clinical team.
She was first made aware of the range of care hospices can provide after visiting a friend in Cornwall who has breast cancer.
“I went to see her in the hospice, I went in with some dread but found it was a very relaxing, happy place with such a positive outlook,” she says.
So, when she was diagnosed with cancer, she had no concerns about being referred to the hospice’s Day Services team for support with her illness and started attending in December 2022.
“I wanted palliative treatment to help me keep on living until I die… that’s what the hospice does, it keeps you living until you die,” she adds.
“The medical side is great, having a doctor who understands and listens to you is wonderful.
“But I also enjoy the company, I live alone and it’s refreshing to be with other people who are suffering, but in different ways. Even though some of us are older and coming to the end of life, getting that diagnosis is still a shock.
“We don’t just sit around talking about our symptoms, but if someone has something they need to say they can say it around people who are going through the same thing. There’s real social support.”
