More than 50 Canberrans have accessed free support after cancer treatment through Cancer Council ACT’s ENRICHing Survivorship Program, a number that CEO Verity Hawkins hopes to double in 2023.

Since October 2021, the program has seen cancer survivors from all backgrounds gather in a sun-soaked room in Deakin to find the peer support that enriches life after remission.

Sessions run for two hours per week over eight weeks and include information on nutrition and exercise, led by an accredited dietician and exercise physiologist, a spot of yoga, and the chance to connect with others who understand a cancer journey isn’t over once you’ve received the all-clear.

Ms Hawkins announced earlier this month that due to expressed interest, ENRICH will be piloting new evening sessions in February, for survivors who have returned to work or otherwise require flexibility.

Research indicates that diet and exercise is critical to recovery and can even help speed up the process.

However, many cancer survivors experience an emotional and physical “slump” after finally being advised that they are in recovery.

Local woman Vickie Hingston-Jones was a past participant of the ENRICH program who has since come onboard as a peer support leader.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A highly active, clean eater prior to her diagnosis, Ms Hingston-Jones said she “absolutely” experienced the post-recovery slump.

“Having cancer isn’t just a physical thing. It’s a very, very emotional, life-changing illness,” she said. “You tend to let go of the things that you once really held onto in your life.”

She described coming out of treatment as exiting into a vacuum. “People think at the end of your active treatment, ‘It’s finished now. You’re okay. You’re back to normal.’

“But you’re not,” said Ms Hingston-Jones. “You’re still getting scans, you’re still taking medication, and this can go on for years and years. You have to remould your life to embrace that.

“The [ENRICH] program was like the bridge between treatment and what life was going to be like from now on. I couldn’t go back to the things I was doing before – that was not going to be possible. I had to replace them.”

She described the “exhale” that followed her first time being in a room full of other survivors.

“You think about how good it is to talk about cancer and not be shut up – generally people don’t like talking about cancer,” she smiled.

The peer support group shared their two main fears in facing the future: “the first one is fatigue. And other people never getting that it wasn’t over”.

They also shared tips for chipping away at the slump. “The main thing was activities … My dad always said, ‘if there’s something to learn, there’s another day to live’.

“So, I learnt to spin, to weave, I kept a very detailed journal with everything I planned to do – and if I didn’t do it, I never had a to-do list. I had a could-do list.”

With the slump being both mental and physical – as fatigue can last for months or even years after finishing treatment – diet and exercise are often placed on the backburner.

“And when you do start thinking about exercise, your body’s changed. You don’t want to try that out in a gym in front of people.

“Here [at ENRICH], they do all these little exercises, and it gives you a really good basis for what your body can do.”

Ms Hingston-Jones and her peers worked on regaining balance, rebuilding muscle, and working with different centres of gravity, “but a lot of it is just getting your confidence back. And being a bit brave,” she smiled.

“I got my confidence back here and was able to re-join the gym … Those little things I did made a big difference in putting structure back into my life.”

Over the past three years, the ENRICH program has received a total of $125,000 from the $4.5 million allocated by the ACT government through Healthy Canberra Grants.

Registration for the program will be available from February. Find out more at actcancer.org/support/enriching-survivorship-program

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