The Honiton outreach clinic providing a lifeline for cancer patients and their families

FORCE (Friends of the Oncology and Radiotherapy Centre, Exeter) is a Devon based cancer charity which offers vital support for patients and their families within the local community.

Nub News spoke to Information Manager, Annie Kerr, at the outreach clinic based at Honiton Hospital.

She said: "Often you hear about the bigger, national charities like Macmillan, and we have a very similar role to Macmillan, but we are local to Devon - meaning we get a lot of support from the local community.

"Our outreach services in Honiton were born about four-five years ago. We've got a support centre on site at the RD&E Hospital, which is a beautiful building specifically for supporting patients with cancer.

"Our chief executive Meriel Fishwick, however, recognised that we would outgrow that building very quickly and also that there was a push to bring services closer to people's homes and that's how the outreach clinic here in Honiton came about.

"We currently operate out of Okehampton on Wednesday, Tiverton on Thursday and Honiton on Friday. Over the last couple of years, the chemotherapy service at the RD&E has come out to those communities as well.

"What we know is that the treatment for cancer, or the care for people undergoing cancer treatment tends to fall into two pots; there's the physical aspect of treating a cancer and we know that cancer treatments generally centre around surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy; the other pot is the psychological aspect of supporting people through cancer treatment.

"What FORCE does really well is that it tailors the psychological support to the person going through treatment and that might mean different things for different people.

"What we know after a cancer diagnosis is that people feel as though they've lost control over life. Their life is dictated by hospital appointments, or treatments and that sense of loss of control can lead to a loss of confidence, which is another common psychological impact.

"Not only that; family, friends and perhaps children in the family can be impacted as well.

"So what FORCE does really well is that it looks at that and tailors any support to the individual's need.

"Our five main core services are the drop-in support and advice service, counselling support - not only for the patient but also their families, complimentary therapies, work rights and welfare entitlement and physiotherapists.

"One of the main challenges for people who have had a cancer diagnosis is fatigue, which really affects people's day-to-day living. We know that mood and activity are very closely linked and if you're less able to be active then often your mood will suffer too.

"That's why we try to encourage people to be active during cancer treatment, which has been seen to significantly improve the side-effects.

"Often people need a lot of courage to seek support and that's why we ensure that this outreach clinic is a really relaxed, friendly environment for people to come into.

"A cancer diagnosis is like having a hand grenade thrown into your life, or the jig-saw puzzle of your life thrown up into the air - it has a life shattering effect on everything you know.

"That's where FORCE has the experience to help people pick up the pieces of their lives, get through treatment as best they can and get out the other side."

For more information on FORCE and the services they provide click the red button below.