"This group stands out because it focuses on being with cancer and how we do that".
In our weekly discussion we thought about our values as a group and our expectations of one another.
Naz founded The BRiC Centre in October 2015 and since then our private group has grown rapidly, with now over 1,100 members. Supported by an amazing team - Anita, Caroline, Jan, Jenny, Tamsin and Vicky - we strive for our group to be a rich, nurturing, supportive, open-minded place, blended with love. Above all else, we value confidentiality and safety, we value warmth and encouragement and we are respectful of each other's needs. We listen to one another without judgement and offer our support unconditionally.
We are women of all ages, from all walks of life and differing backgrounds, with many and varied life experiences. We are women with primary and secondary breast cancer. We do not see primary and secondary breast cancer as separate entities, but instead, as being on a continuum, where a better understanding of our common and particular experiences and needs can foster greater mutual support and resilience.
Some of us are recently diagnosed, others are going through active treatment or are on maintenance treatment; some of us are living with long-term side-effects, or, do not see ourselves as falling easily into neat categories due to our very particular experiences.
We celebrate our successes and the many and varied ways we practice our resilience - our poetry, our art, our photography, our writing, our singing, our fundraising, our running and other physical achievements, our campaigning and lobbying. We cheer on those engaged in new endeavours as well as those reconnecting with activities they enjoyed before being plunged into the uncertainty that accompanies a cancer diagnosis.
We hold hands through the bad times and through our shared hardships we form strong bonds; we share all sorts of emotions - our worries, our fears and sometimes our tears. We light candles for those we have lost, carrying love in our hearts which shine with the light that we all hold for each other.
Our group is a place to think, to be open, not only a home for our hearts but also for our minds, a place for ideas and debate. Not just a place to cry, but a place to laugh and to find and share humour.
It is a place with a strong sense of togetherness, as we learn to accept and try to embrace our changed selves. It is a place for us to learn from one another what resilience actually means. We embrace our honesty and value our differences. We are eager to learn, to develop and take steady steps towards resilience and flexibility.
We are a support group, but we have become much more than that. We have a sense of direction and a passion. We are a group with resilience as our aim and carry hope in our hearts.
If you are a woman with a breast cancer diagnosis living in the UK and you would like to join our private members group, please message us via our facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/resilienceinbreastcancer/
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