When faced with a cancer diagnosis—whether your own or a loved one’s—life can quickly feel overwhelming. The emotional toll of uncertainty, fear and change is real. But amidst the chaos, one gentle, powerful practice offers a way to stay grounded: mindfulness meditation.

What Is Mindfulness and How Can It Help?
Mindfulness is the practice of gently bringing your attention to the present moment, without judgment. It's not about trying to fix anything, but about being with what is—with kindness.

Research shows that regular mindfulness practice can help reduce anxiety and stress, improve sleep and mood, ease pain and enhance emotional wellbeing. For those affected by cancer, these benefits can be especially meaningful.

The Subtle Difference Between Stress and Anxiety
Stress is usually a response to external pressures, while anxiety often stems from worrying about what might happen next. Both can feel overwhelming, but mindfulness offers practical tools—like grounding, gentle breathwork and compassionate awareness—to soothe the nervous system and offer a sense of calm.

Making Space for Emotions
Cancer can stir up a wide range of emotions: fear, sadness, anger, even grief. Mindfulness doesn't ask us to suppress these feelings—it creates space to feel them without becoming consumed by them. Over time, it can help build emotional resilience, encourage self-compassion and support healing on every level.

Rewiring the Mind Through Practice
The benefits of mindfulness go beyond the moment. Regular practice has been shown to change how the brain responds to stress, improving focus, emotional regulation and clarity. It helps quiet the inner “alarm system,” making room for more balanced, grounded responses.

Why Practising Together Makes a Difference
While mindfulness can certainly be practiced solo, many people find comfort and strength in coming together. Group sessions offer a sense of connection, shared understanding, and mutual support. At The Fountain Centre, our mindfulness groups provide a safe, welcoming space for anyone affected by cancer to pause, breathe and reconnect.

Whether you're facing treatment, navigating recovery, or supporting someone you love, mindfulness can be a steady hand to hold.

Contact us to find out more about our Mindfulness sessions and how they could help you. 

This Carers Week, we recognise the dedication and resilience of those who support loved ones with cancer. Rachel, who cared for her husband Mark after his Stage 4 bowel cancer diagnosis, reflects on her experience and the vital role of the Fountain Centre in helping her family navigate an uncertain time.

Discovering The Fountain Centre

Rachel first learned about the Fountain Centre in the midst of medical appointments and difficult decisions, she sought a place where her entire family—herself, Mark, and their three young children—could find guidance and support.

"I was searching for something concrete and tangible—a place where we could each get what we needed," Rachel shares. The Fountain Centre became that place, offering counselling, therapies, and emotional reassurance at a time when she needed it most.

Support from our Psychological Support Service helped Rachel identify her children's needs and provided crucial emotional guidance for Rachel herself. Mark also received counselling, ensuring that every family member had access to the care they needed.

The Reality of Being a Carer

Life changed instantly after Mark’s diagnosis, as Rachel adapted to a new reality—balancing medical appointments, emotional stress, and everyday life.

"At first, there’s this very weird shock. It’s the biggest, most critical news you’ve ever received, but life has to keep going."

She describes the challenge of keeping life as stable as possible for her children while also facing difficult conversations with doctors and loved ones. The Fountain Centre’s complementary therapies, including Reiki and Reflexology, gave Rachel time to process her emotions, providing space to think and prepare for what lay ahead.

Prioritising Wellbeing and Finding Peace

Rachel emphasises how essential it was for her to care for herself.

"Mark and I were both so focused on each other and the children that I had to learn how to put myself first. And that was incredibly difficult."

Through this experience, she came to understand that looking after her own wellbeing wasn’t selfish—it was necessary to keep her family strong. Today, she moves forward with one guiding principle:

No regrets.

"Every decision, every moment we had together—no regrets. That’s what keeps me going."

Encouraging Others to Seek Support

Rachel hopes her experience encourages other carers to seek support, even when the road ahead feels overwhelming.

"The Fountain Centre helped us close the gap between the unbearable truth and the ability to accept it. The emotions we went through were impossible to handle alone."

For anyone caring for a loved one with cancer, Rachel’s advice is simple: be honest about your needs, reach out for help, and embrace every moment—however difficult it may be.

This Carers Week, we recognise the strength of carers and the importance of support networks like The Fountain Centre. If you or someone you know needs support while caring for a loved one with cancer, help is available.

The Fountain Centre, in partnership with the Royal Surrey Hospital, proudly took part in NHS England’s 2024 Experience of Care Improvement Collaborative, a national initiative bringing together healthcare professionals and people with lived experience to improve cancer care.

Focusing on the administration of care, our project aimed to ensure that all cancer patients treated at the Royal Surrey NHS Trust Cancer Centre, receive timely and clear information on how to access wellbeing support through the Fountain Centre.

Co-led by Michelle Collin, Head of Cancer Services, and Anne Pike, Head of the Fountain Centre, and supported by executive sponsor Vicki Mumford, the project team also included Amy Granville (Lead Colorectal CNS), Lucie Broome (Lead Renal Cancer CNS), and Anne Brunton, our lived experience partner.

Over the past eight months, we have gathered data, interviewed patients and staff, run focus groups, and mapped referral pathways. A key strength of this project was the involvement of Anne Brunton, whose insights as a person with lived experience of cancer care were vital to ensuring our work was genuinely co-produced and patient-centred. Her contribution helped keep the voice of patients at the heart of every decision and direction the project took.

As a result of this work, over the next year, the Fountain Centre will develop new information resources and deliver educational sessions for clinical staff to raise awareness of our services and how we support patients. This includes producing a short film featuring real patient experiences.

Participating in this project has been a hugely positive experience. It highlights the strength of partnership working between the Fountain Centre and Royal Surrey NHS Trust and the power of co-production in shaping services that truly meet the needs of those they are designed to support.