View the updates in your region by clicking on the drop-downs below.
The Auckland team, Tim, Natasha, Annette and Sharon welcome you to 2024. As we closed 2023, we enjoyed catching up with everyone and celebrating the festive season with our Christmas get-togethers from Kaitaia to Pukekohe. Looking ahead to this year, we want to update you about some of our recent changes.
Previously, we sent out an Auckland-wide email, advertising all of our various support groups for this area. With our new computer system, we have been able to separate the mailing lists for each group. We run groups in Orewa, Takapuna, Epsom, Henderson, Manukau, Howick and Pukekohe, as well as a dedicated Myeloma group.
We want to tailor these invitation lists, ensuring that everyone who might be interested receives an invitation to the group that they want. You are very welcome to be on more than one list. We also want to hear from people who would like to be removed from a support group mailing list. Please use the opt-out option at the bottom of the invitation or contact one of us if you wish to be removed.
And remember, we run some age-specific groups in Auckland. There is an adolescent/young adult group, as well as our Kids’ Clubs – Super Kids’ clubs for haematology paediatric patients, and Kids’ Clubs for children who have someone close to them with a haematology disorder (available in person and online). These are run by a play therapist and are both great fun and therapeutic.
For Northland, things will continue as usual with our groups in Whangarei, Dargaville, Kerikeri and Kaitaia. Natasha is looking forward to connecting with many of you again at these groups.
In the planning stages for 2024 in Auckland, we have a Māori and Pasifika group as well as a Chinese group. We also will be running a lady’s makeup and skincare group alongside Look Good Feel Better in the first half of this year. If any of these are of interest to you, please let us know, so we can invite you, when the time comes.
Last but not least, the Auckland team are very excited to have the Blood Cancer Patient Forum in Auckland this year! Please keep an eye out for the Save the date coming to you soon. We hope you can make it!
Please remember to contact your Support Services Coordinator if you need support. If we are not available, call 0800 151015, during business hours and someone will be able to help.
A big hello from Sean and Rochelle, the Support Services Coordinators based in Hamilton. We have been in our new office for a year now. It’s a great multi-use space where we facilitate our Hamilton Haematology patient group and our Kids Club and meet with patients and whanau face to face.
Sean works Monday to Friday and although he is based in our Hamilton office spends a lot of time travelling around the Midlands region facilitating patient groups. This year he will continue groups in Taupo, Gisborne, Whakatane, Rotorua as well as Hamilton. He is also re-starting a patient haematology group in Thames, so if you live in that area, watch this space!
Rochelle works Monday and Wednesdays and covers the Western Bay of Plenty area. Our Tauranga hematology patient group will continue every 2 months this year.
Our haematology patient groups (AKA support groups) are open for any haematology patient and their support person/people to attend. It’s a great opportunity to meet other people in your area who have the same or similar blood cancer or condition. It can sound intimidating if you’ve never been but they are very relaxed groups, usually with a muffin and cup of tea in hand, and most importantly a safe space where people can ask questions and learn more about different topics related to haematology.
We also encourage you to look at the online (zoom) groups happening this year. Most of them are disease specific so a great way to engage in more specific conversation around your blood cancer or blood condition, different treatments and recovery.
Now that the hospitals are allowing visitors to the wards Sean and Rochelle visit Waikato hospital on a regular basis. And when we are travelling to the other towns/cities in the region we pop into the different Cancer Centres to connect with the health professionals and any patients who are there at the time.
Please remember to contact your Support Services Coordinator if you need support. If we are not available, call 0800 151015, during business hours and someone will be able to help.
Kia ora everyone,
Welcome to 2024, we hope the year has started well! We are really looking forward to connecting with you and have been busy in the Central Office planning support groups, hospital visits, and travel to the Central regions.
We welcome you to join one of the many support groups we host in Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Whanganui, Palmerston North, Wairarapa, Kapiti, Hutt Valley or Wellington.
We are aware that some of you will be dealing with significant challenges so please remember that we are available for one to one support, providing a listening ear and practical assistance.
Take care and please reach out as you need.
Please remember to contact your Support Services Coordinator if you need support. If we are not available, call 0800 151015, during business hours and someone will be able to help.
We finished a busy 2023 with the successful patient forum held in Christchurch, moving office and connecting with many patients.
Here we are already in March with the first round of support groups having started.
Kate covers Timaru and Ashburton regions and enjoyed her trip down there last month with big groups held at the Cancer Society in both towns. Unfortunately, weather prevented travel to the Westcoast where she attends clinic with the Haematologist but will be hosting an online zoom call later in March.
Helen covers the Nelson / Marlborough region, and these groups continue to grow. The Honest Lawyer Café in Nelson continues to support our groups and we are back to the refurbished Nativity centre in Blenheim.
The Christchurch Support group recently trialled a new venue at Papa Hou. It was a great space and Café Atawhai make a fabulous coffee! We have a number of guest speakers lined up for the upcoming meetings.
Do get in touch with us if you are not receiving invites to your local support groups.
LBC is helping towards enhancing the new ward, including the AYA space and Haematology Children’s space. The project managers are coming up with some great designs, so we are excited to be part of this. We hope that by the middle of the year the designs will be completed, and the work started on B6.
Our Kids’ Club has started back up for the year with our wonderful facilitator, and a whole new group of children. It was very warming to watch the children make their gratitude jars to take home. If you have a child aged between 5-12, who has a loved one with a haematology disorder and would like to attend, please get in touch.
We continue to work with our outpatient staff here in Christchurch and around the regions to connect with Haematology patients in our region. If we haven’t met you yet, do get in touch with us.
Please remember to contact your Support Services Coordinator if you need support. If we are not available, call 0800 151015, during business hours and someone will be able to help.
Welcome to 2024, I hope the year has started well and you are enjoying the varied weather we are having this summer.
I am really looking forward to connecting with you and have been busy in the Dunedin office planning support groups, hospital visits, and travel around the lower South Island.
Following on from feedback received in our recent Patient Survey where a resounding 92% of patients wished they had been referred to LBC at the point of diagnosis so they were aware that there was support available to them, we have been working with the staff at the Haematology Department in Dunedin and have devised an ‘opt-out’ system for all haematology patients to be automatically referred to LBC unless they specifically decline this. Not many have declined so far and people are happy to be contacted with information from us.
The haematology Clinical Nurse Specialists for our region recognise the importance of providing clinics closer to home, so are investigating the possibility of this. Fingers crossed, and I will keep you informed.
Support groups for this region are back up and running and if you are not already attending one locally please and would like to do so, then please contact me. There are regular groups in Dunedin, Invercargill, Central Otago and Oamaru.
Take care and please reach out as you need.
Please remember to contact your Support Services Coordinator if you need support. If we are not available, call 0800 151015, during business hours and someone will be able to help.