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The Bristol Approach: An appreciation

I have written previously about the remarkable achievements of Pat Pilkington but did not allude to the Bristol Programme Approach first advocated by the late Penny Brohn who stands as an indefatigable giant in the world of secondary cancer.

 http://betweendenbighandkeele.blogspot.com/2013/09/gulliver-among-lilliputians.html

Penny was on the wrong end of secondary cancer herself and soon devised a programme which ought to be replicated in every corner of the country (and far beyond for that matter). Very briefly, Penny proposed a four point plan for people with cancer or recurrent cancer. Along the way, she was vilified by the medical establishment but finally received the apology she deserved. This is her four point plan. On the record, I believe strongly it should be widely available in the public domain where it undoubtedly belongs:-


  • The approach should be holistic. There should be a place where therapists show as much interest in the heads and hearts of patients as in their livers and lymph glands.
  • People have a right to take responsibility for their own health and should be empowered to do so, promoting their own self healing.
  • Lifestyle changes may prevent cancer occuring or re-occuring, and this message to patients is vital, as is help in making such changes.
  • Safe and gentle therapies could be used to counteract disease and enhance health, alongside conventional medicines seemingly more aggressive approach.
I accept that the vast majority of the medical profession continue to dispute this as nonsense. These views reflect my own and I believe the time has come for a grown up debate in this area because I think people are worth it. I would point to the use of the word "may" in the third point as I would not want to deliver false hope. There is nothing in Penny's approach other than common sense and holistic care. I hope one day to see centres like hers throughout the country. Whether patients choose to access them is rightly a matter for them.

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