A WOMAN has said counselling sessions helped her emerge from her cancer diagnosis a ‘stronger person’ and is encouraging others to reach out for help.

Heather Park from Kendal sought help from CancerCare after realising she needed extra support following a breast cancer diagnosis in March last year.

Covid exacerbated the already difficult situation, with Ms Park having to attend many of her appointments alone and a bad experience during an MRI scan left her feeling worried and anxious.

“I’m quite an independent person and not usually one that likes to talk about feelings and emotions and didn’t like to burden family and friends with problems,” she said.

She got in touch with the charity and was referred for counselling with Fiona MacDonald at its centre on Blackhall Road in Kendal.

“My sessions with Fiona were a massive help,” said Ms Park.

“It was so nice knowing that every week I had that relief and was able to go in and chat about what was going on.

“Most of the time I was quite upbeat but there were times when I was quite upset and found it hard to ask for help. Fiona has a great way of ‘turning things on their head’ and enabling you to think about situations in a different way.

“I was also grateful for the number of sessions I was able to have which saw me all the way through my treatment.

“There were times I didn’t know how I would have coped if I had not been able to talk to her.”

Ms Park’s course of treatment initially began with chemotherapy at Westmorland General before undergoing surgery in October.

She recently finished radiotherapy and is looking forward to returning to work in the office at PV Dobson & Sons in Levens, next month.

And she is even considering volunteering with CancerCare and using her experience to help others going through cancer.

“I feel I have emerged from my experience with cancer a much stronger person,” she said.

“My sessions with Fiona have been a big part of that and in the future I would like to do some volunteering for CancerCare as a way of giving something back.

“It would be great to be able to use my thoughts and experiences to help the charity benefit others in a similar situation.”

CancerCare provides free professional counselling and therapy for people affected by cancer and bereavement across the Morecambe Bay area and they are using the World Cancer Day campaign on February, which aims to raise awareness of the global impact of cancer, to highlight the wide range of services it provides.