Patient Support Service
Support for patients
Support for patients
Patient Support services for LGBTIQ+ people affected by cancer.
Online peer support meetings for LGBTIQ+ cancer Patients
Our online peer support meetings provide opportunities for LGBTIQ+ people affected by cancer to meet and share their experiences. We create a warm, friendly space to connect with others, and a safe environment to talk openly and share our experiences. We believe community is key and is strengthened by mutual care. Meetings are run as a conversation, guided by our peer-facilitators and supported by Maggies’ cancer specialists. We encourage attendees to tell us which topics they want to discuss and we offer them the opportunity to set session themes.
We also welcome people who have finished their treatment as they often tell us they feel alienated by cancer services. One of our connections said that attending our groups was “even more important than when I was having the treatment.”
When people join us, their relief in finding our service is undeniable, with people describing our support service as “life-changing” and “really powerful and such a contrast to the breast cancer support group I had been to previously, where only courage and bravery are allowed a voice.”
One of our contacts told us that “The monthly virtual meet-ups has allowed me to get the social, emotional, and mental support I really needed” and another said that our service was “the only peer support I accessed during and after my cancer treatment.”
“Going to the groups helped me realise how much I miss the experience of being queer as part of being a community.”
Charles
If you are looking for bereavement support or specialist support for prostate cancer, we recommend Grief Encounters: Bereavement support (Brighton) | Switchboard, Out with prostate cancer (Manchester), and Walnut (prostate peer support group, London).
We will stand with you
If you face barriers that you cannot overcome alone, we’re here to advocate on your behalf. Our passionate team can help you find appropriate resources and support where you may have previously struggled to do so.
When it comes down to helping people live with and beyond cancer we know that our combined voice will have a greater impact upon the world, and we understand that hospitals and healthcare environments often lack knowledge and resources for the LGBTIQ+ community. We believe that social prescribing improves the health and wellbeing of cancer patients. Through creative collaboration we seek to provide resources and support for everyone, and to improve signposting for those in our community affected by cancer.
If you feel that you need advocacy support, please reach out to us on our contact page.
Get support
Outpatients provides a safe space for anyone who identifies as part of the queer spectrum and has had an experience with any kind of cancer – at any stage. For more support alternatives, please use the following links.