Live your Life - Spring 2018 update
Published on: 15 May 2018Rachel updates on a successful 16 months of helping people to live with and beyond lymphoma.
Since the Live your Life project began in January 2017, we've reached 663 people across the country, from Belfast to Bournemouth, Inverness, to Cardiff. With more than 50 events planned in 2018, we’re excited to be able to reach so many people affected by lymphoma and help them live with and beyond their diagnosis.
I work as a Live your Life project coordinator, and it’s been amazing to see the project grow since I joined the charity 16 months ago. I have lymphoma myself – I was diagnosed when I was 13 and had chemotherapy, and am now on watch and wait. My own experiences of learning to live my life with lymphoma means I’m passionate about the Live your Life project and being able to use my own experiences in a positive way to help others.
By the end of the day, the group is laughing together, friendships are formed, and the positive atmosphere means people leave the room feeling reassured, confident, and determined to live their life to the full.
Making a difference
We've collected feedback from everyone who has attended an event and it's clear our workshops and conferences are making a difference.
100% of attendees said they would recommend a Live your Life event to other people affected by lymphoma
- 100% of our attendees said ‘I have learnt what I can do to live well with and beyond lymphoma’
- 94% of our attendees said ‘I feel better able to cope with the emotional aspects of a lymphoma diagnosis’
- 95% of our attendees said ‘I feel less alone and know how to get in touch with people that can help me should I need to’
- 94% our attendees said ‘I feel I can better manage the physical side effects of my treatment’
- 99% our attendees said ‘I feel confident I can maintain a healthy, active lifestyle, even in times of stress’
- 91% our attendees said ‘I feel more able to consider undertaking voluntary or paid work’.
An amazing team of volunteers
Our team has put together an amazing group of 14 volunteers who assist us in leading our workshops across the UK. All of our facilitators have had a lymphoma diagnosis themselves and a professional background in training or teaching. Each facilitator attends our two-day training course and receives ongoing support to ensure they're confident to deliver our workshops.
My favourite part of the Live your Life events is seeing people open up, share their experiences and connect with others. Often it is the first time they’ve spoken aloud about their experiences and emotions. Throughout the day, people get more confident and take comfort from hearing other people feel the same – the power of the words ‘me too’ can't be underestimated. We're hopeful that the workshop has shown that there is life after treatment and you can live well with and beyond lymphoma.
Mainly funded by a grant from the Big Lottery Fund, our Live your Life programme includes interactive workshops, conferences with talks from expert speakers, and young people’s workshops, so there’s something for everyone. We hope to see you at one of our events soon!