Newsletter for
Macmillan Professionals
April 2008

Welcome

The Macmillan professionals' e-newsletter is almost two years old and we are keen to find out what you think of us. Please let us know at: cancerinformationteam@macmillan.org.uk

• three things you like about the newsletter
• three things you think we could improve
• anything you think we should add to the format.

Our congratulations go to Kathryn McCall, a Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist from Lochber, who won the palliative care Nurse of the Year award at the recent International Journal of Palliative Care Awards 2008. You can read more about Kathryn’s achievement in last week’s Nursing Times.

News The latest resources in support of patients and their families, including the launch of OPERA and Mesothelioma UK. Read more.

Learning and development Places are filling up on the second UK-wide event for Macmillan Professionals – so find out how to book now. Read about Learning and Development changes in Macmillan UK Office and find out about the Turning The Tide event taking place in Devon this September. Read more.

How you can get involved Preparations for Carers Week are underway; find out how you can get involved. We also need you to feedback on the handbook for Macmillan professionals, which we redesigned and updated last year. Read more.

News

Help for those worried about inheriting cancer

Many people are unnecessarily concerned about inheriting breast or ovarian cancer. To help them, Macmillan has launched OPERA (Online Personal Education and Risk Assessment) - the first online interactive software program that gives personalised information on a person’s risk of inherited breast and ovarian cancer, and suggests where to get further advice.

The service can be accessed at www.macmillan.org.uk/genetics

National Mesothelioma Resource Centre

Mesothelioma UK is a national resource centre providing impartial, up-to-date support and information for all Mesothelioma patients and their carers. It also works with healthcare professionals, the legal profession and relevant charities and voluntary groups.

To find out more, visit www.mesothelioma.uk.com or call 0800 169 2409.

Learning and development

Hurry! Book your place on the Supporting and
Engaging Macmillan Professionals Programme

The second UK-wide event for Macmillan professionals will take place from 22-23 May 2008 at Queens Hotel, Leeds. The theme will be ‘Quality Improvement in Cancer Services'.

To book a place at this event, please complete the booking form in the Courses, Events and e-Programmes section of the Learn Zone.

Learning and Development changes in UK Office

Lynn Batehup stepped down as head of Education, Information & Support (EI&S) at the end of March.

As part of the organisation review and the merger with Cancerbackup, EI&S has split. The two new departments are Learning and Development (L&D) and Information and Support (I&S). The process for recruiting a head of L&D is underway and Emma Whelan, formerly Cancerbackup’s head of Information and Marketing, has been appointed head of Information and Support.

Professionals Turning The Tide

From 8-9 September 2008, the Sherwell Centre at The University of Plymouth in Devon will be hosting the sixth National Cancer Conference called Turning The Tide.

You can access the application form under ‘External reports, updates or guidelines’ in the ‘Items of interest’ section of the Learn Zone [PDF, 418 KB].

How you can get involved

Have you registered your event for Carers Week 2008?

Macmillan is an official partner in this year’s Carers Week, from 9-15 June 2008. The theme this year is ‘Carers can’t afford to be ill’ and it highlights the need for better support and services for carers. We are encouraging all Macmillan services that support carers to organise an event. You’ll receive free and subsidised promotional materials including leaflets and posters, stickers, banners and T-shirts.

You can register your event via the Carers Week website: www.carersweek.org
For more information, please contact Charlotte Argyle, Lifecare Transition Manager on 0207 091 2041 or cargyle@macmillan.org.uk

Handbook for Macmillan professionals

It’s now a year since we reviewed the handbook, and we hope you have found it useful. Feedback received so far suggests you either love it or don’t use it much! Now is your chance to tell us what you like and dislike about it - and what would make it more useful.

Please complete the feedback form in the useful links section [Word doc, 43 KB] on the home page of the learn zone by Friday 16 May 2008. We plan to have the new content ready by the end of July, which gives us time to incorporate any design features you suggest.

Prescriptions charges campaign takes off

Macmillan's research shows nearly one in ten cancer patients aged 55 and under who incur prescription charges are unable to afford their medication. Some patients are forced to prioritise which medication they take because they can’t afford them all. Prescription charges in England have recently risen by 25p, taking the charge for a single prescription item to £7.10. In Wales they have been free for the past year. Charges are also being phased out in Scotland and have been capped at £6.85 in Northern Ireland pending their own consultation. We want free prescriptions for everyone, across all four nations.

We will be campaigning over the coming months to ensure no cancer patient is left unable to pay for their prescriptions. To find out more about our campaign please go to our prescription campaigns page.

NOTE: If you know anyone who has personal experience of living with this issue, we would very much like to hear from you. Please email campaigns@macmillan.org.uk with details of how we can contact them. With their permission we may ask them to support the campaign as case studies or in other ways.

Policy update

Read about [PDF, 380 KB] Dame Carol Black's review of health and wellbeing in the working age population, and prescription charges announcements in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Journalwatch

Read our monthly review of the journals [PDF, 57 KB], identifying articles that will be of interest to you.

If you would like to leave feedback about this newsletter or the work Macmillan do, please do so.
The Macmillan CancerLine is open Mon - Fri 9am - 10pm. Please call 0808 808 2020.
Macmillan Cancer Support, Registered Charity Number 261017. Isle of Man Charity Number 604.