The safe place and peer support you provide to others throughout their sarcoma journey makes a big difference.
Sharing experiences, both good and bad, can really help patients and their families to feel less alone, and to feel listened to and understood.
Who can run a support group?
Anyone can run a support group, and this includes patients, carers, family and friends, health professionals.
Running a support group can be a big commitment. As it is a voluntary role, it’s important to recognise the time and effort required to keep it going before you set one up.
Where can I hold a support group?
A support group can be held anywhere, including a hospital, a community centre, a coffee shop, a cancer charity’s information and support centre, or online.
It’s important that groups meet somewhere that offers privacy and a safe space.
Choosing a meeting place where members can talk and listen while enjoying a cup of tea or coffee can help new members feel more welcome.
If there are good public transport links and a car park nearby, it is one less thing for members to worry about.
Is there a good time or day of the week to hold my support group?
There is no right or wrong time to hold your support group. It’s useful to think about what time of day most of your members can come to meetings.
More people may be able to come at weekends or in the evening after work.
It’s important to be consistent with the timings of meetings. For example: the first Monday of every month, 6.30-8.30pm, or the third Saturday of every other month, 1.30-3pm.
This helps regular members to be sure of when the next meeting will be, as well as those who haven’t come to your group for a while and people looking to attend for the first time.
Consistency can also help when you are booking a meeting place, as it helps venue organisers to know in advance. Meetings can last between 90 minutes and 2 hours, and some may meet once a month or every few months. Making sure that meetings run to time helps people to plan the meeting around their other commitments. You may like to send reminders out about the meetings to regular members and your Clinical Nurse Specialist, who can promote your group to new patients.
Some groups also arrange social activities outside of the group meetings. This can help members get to know each other better and provide extra support between sessions. It also gives people a chance to enjoy a day out, away from a hospital or more formal setting, and can help them feel less isolated.
How do I fund a support group?
Sarcoma UK offers a grant of £500 a year. This can be used to pay for travel expenses, room bookings, get togethers, trips out, or promotional materials.
To find out more about this grant, or to apply for funding, please contact Sarah, the Information and Support Officer at Sarcoma UK at sarah.kingsmill@sarcoma.org.uk
There are organisations such as local authorities, trusts and charities who may offer funding.
There are also informal ways of fundraising, such as pub quizzes and raffles, with family and friends, colleagues and local hospital teams. The Sarcoma UK fundraising team can offer further information and advice on accessing other sources of funding. Please contact them at fundraising@sarcoma.org.uk
How should I store confidential information about group members?
It’s very important that you store confidential information about group members in a way that follows the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation. This is commonly known a GDPR.
Detailed information about GDPR and how to make sure you’re following it can be found here.
