On 23 March, Shine visited Maggie’s Edinburgh to run our first Shine Shake Up. It was an amazing one day event full of laughter, learning and connecting with other younger adults with cancer. Run by the lovely Shine team – Ceinwen, Hannah and myself – the idea behind the day was to grow our support in Edinburgh, spotlight the support that we offer to people in their 20s, 30s and 40s with cancer and to encourage people to come along to our monthly Edinburgh network events.
We had 18 people sign up and the day was focused on connecting with other younger adults with cancer and talking about things that matter – like how they cope with uncertainty, media misinformation about cancer, and how they manage their fears. There was a mixture of group discussions and breaking into small groups. Younger adults often feel quite isolated and like they’re the only one who is experiencing cancer, so the power of the day was showing people that they weren’t alone in their experiences, feelings or anxieties.
The day was an overwhelming success with many of the participants trading numbers, making connections and new friendships with others who just ‘get it’. We now have a healthy WhatsApp group of participants that wish to stay in touch, lots of new Edinburgh Network members and ideas for future meet ups. We want to say a massive thank you to Caroline and everyone who works at Maggie’s Edinburgh for letting us use their beautiful centre, suggesting some really delicious catering and for being so supportive and helpful throughout the day. We have two more Shake Ups coming up, one on April 20th at Maggie’s Southampton and one on June 15th at Maggie’s Bart’s that are free to sign up for on our website!
The honesty, vulnerability and encouragement of those who attended is what made the impact of the event reach far beyond a single day. This can be best summed up by some feedback left by one of the participants:
“Thank you for running this day. In my two and a half years dealing with cancer, it’s been a lonely journey as I have always been the youngest person in every room by a mile. Being with people of a similar age group who just get it was hugely beneficial for me and for once I actually didn’t feel alone. I feel like I’ve found connections for life which is just amazing. So thank you.”
