Make Sense Campaign

Good day to you all (and every day is a good day),

Those of you who have read my blog before will know that I have been fortunate enough to be treated by Mr Sat Parmar at Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital in Birmingham. Mr Parmar is a member of the Steering Committee of the European Head and Neck Society (EHNS), which is running a pan-European head and neck cancer awareness campaign called the Make Sense Campaign. Now in its third year, and active in over 14 countries across Europe, the campaign seeks to engage everyone –  members of the public, patient groups, healthcare professionals, and Members of the European Parliament. This year, the awareness week is taking place between 21–25 September 2015.

I recently became involved with the campaign and its activities when we realised there was no patient groups in the UK that were concerned specifically with head and neck cancer.  Patient groups are an important part of any process of recovery and coming to terms with diagnosis, so we are working to get this initiative started, and getting involved in this campaign is one step closer. Its a lonely, scary old place with no-one to talk to.

Participating in the campaign this year will allow us to spread the word around the UK by Uniting Voices. In the past few years, the Make Sense Campaign has used a number of different fun and innovative ways to raise awareness of head and neck cancer. This year, the theme of the campaign is #UnitingVoices .There are several ways to participate in this initiative.

How you can get involved!

(1) By participating in their very own virtual choir! The Make Sense Campaign will be filming a formal choir made up of laryngectomy patients, and inviting other people to support the fight against head and neck cancer.

To support this activity, I would like you to film yourself, your family or your doctors/nurses singing to the chosen song! The campaign have selected   John Farnham’s ‘You’re the Voice’ – you’ll remember it once you hear it!

Once you’ve completed your video send it to makesensecampaign@axon-com.com,   they will combine the videos together and host them on their website; and use it during the awareness week.

(2) If you’re a patient, film your own patient  testimonial . It’s really easy – all you have to do is use your smartphone or tablet and film yourself talking for around a minute about how your diagnosis has affected you and how you are overcoming it.

      Once you have completed your video you can send it to makesensecampaign@axon-com.com and post it to your own social media network – but make sure you use #UnitingVoices!

To find out more about the Make Sense Campaign and the activities planned for this year , the 3rd Annual Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week (21–25 September), visit the following sites:

-          Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Make-Sense-Campaign/372091092995793

-          Twitter: https://twitter.com/makesensecmpn

o   @Makesensecmpn

-          YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzJf2jK_cEqqdzJikvUxtjQ

-          GoFundme: http://www.gofundme.com/ufrp7q4

-           There is a lot of information available, and the team behind the campaign are supportive and truly want to support us.

If you have any further questions about how to get involved, feel free to contact me or the Campaign Secretariat at: MakeSenseCampaign@axon-com.com. Any contribution you can make, would be much appreciated!

Best wishes to all,

Chris

Almost Four Years

Good day to you all,
A very warm welcome if you are visiting for the first time.Welcome back if you are returning to the page.Having checked the stats,I see that I now have over 13000 visitors to the page.This is well beyond the original idea which was to inform family and friends and to use as a method of communication if my voice didn't return.
I am well aware that blogs are getting further apart - the reason being that I am now living a normal (And very enjoyable) life which most of you would not find particularly interesting. I have now got used to the concept of retirement from full-time work but still need the stimulus from my part-time/voluntary jobs to keep the adrenalin flowing and the brain sharp.I know that I am back on form - last week I drove a 29 item parish council agenda ( complete with public participation) through in just over an hour. Everyone had their say and our Clerk will be spending twice as long writing up the minutes- everyone's a winner , including the local hostelry which half a dozen of us visited afterwards.
As a general brief update on my social life since the last blog ,which was over eight months ago, by far the biggest events have revolved around my two sons. Daniel, my eldest, became a father, hence I became a Grandad ( I'm far too young to be a Grandad !!) on New Years Eve 2014,so I now have a healthy bouncing granddaughter who is now just over six months old. Simon, my youngest, coolly announced that he was giving up his job and re-training to fly aeroplanes .He is in Arizona,USA at present but has just a few more months to go before he qualifies, so listen carefully to the announcements next time you get on a plane, you might just be piloted by my youngest son.We didn't ski this year because they were both otherwise engaged but I hope to go again soon.The annual village pantomime broke all records yet again.We did a version of Dick Turpin - I played a supporting role as Dicks right hand man,confidant and ultimately rescued him from the rope by dressing as a very attractive lady and serenading the guards whilst he made his escape (yes,I can still belt out Abba songs).This was my twelfth year on stage.Its something I really enjoy, and it raises a lot of money for the community village hall.This year saw parish council elections for the first time in decades ( there are usually just the same number of candidates as there are places) but this year there was a person with a grudge who put up.Unsurprisingly,the existing members were re-elected by a large margin, I came second in the poll,which really amazed me and I was re-elected Chairman,in my absence,at the next meeting- not that there are ever many volunteers for the role.The last year saw some interesting potential developments in the village ,which necessitated several visits to address the relevant committees of the District Council to ensure they made the right decisions!! - all videoed and published on the net, On a sporting note, the golf continues to frustrate. I won the winter competition this last time ,after being runner-up in 2013/14, and have had some good rounds ( and a lot of poor ones).I managed to get to all but one of the Sporting Club Dinners ( male only,black tie events)and heard some very interesting speakers in the company of some very good people.The football season at Lincoln degenerated into the usual disappointing end so there has been a major clear out of players, 10 new ones have joined and pre-season optimism is high - will it last ? Time will tell.I have got a little more involved over the last year but cannot divulge details yet.
Cricket season is going well after a poor (weather wise) start. I've officiated in a couple of County age group games as well as the various County and local league matches and have the local Albion Cup final tomorrow night,which could be a spicy affair.We have had a couple of summer breaks so far , to the Cotswolds and South Devon; and have plans for Norfolk,North Yorkshire,Scottish Borders and TBA before winter sets in.
On the health front,I had a bit of a scare earlier on this year.During my regular check up with Mr.Parmar, he suggested a CT scan might be a good idea ( that's the one where you're passed through a large doughnut - without the taste sensation).The result was a couple of abnormalities , one of which was in my lymph nodes - cue panic- however, a week or so later,we drove down to QE Birmingham for an early evening prod into my neck with a large needle ( no pain- I have no feeling there ) and it was found to be not cancerous - cue relief. Unfortunately,the dental surgeon who created my current smile ( or grimace) has moved on the pastures new ( no,He hasn't died, he just got a better job - for him) so next time I go to Birmingham Dental Hospital,it will be a new consultant.
I think thats as much as I can say for now.Enjoy your summer - every day is a good day.
Very best wishes to you all,
Chris