Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We are what we eat?

As we continue to drown under a tsunami of over-regulation, I was horrified to read proposals to regulate the food industry like the tobacco industry.  There is a basic problem in this approach. Regulation only has a limited worth. We have seemingly regulated the way in which MPs claim their expenses. We have also aspired to regulate the banks in the wake of the credit crunch which so nearly brought this country to bankruptcy. The regulation of the tobacco industry is a cautionary tale of what happens when the state attempts to interfere with freedom of choice. For all the regulation and increased taxation, the incidence of new smokers taking up the habit has barely changed. The prevalence of people smoking as a proportion of the population has gradually dropped but not by nearly as much as originally intended. It proves that people will make their own minds up and make their own choices accordingly. The best way to effect a change at the end of the pipeline is to concentrate ou...
6 comments
Read more

Tony Blair - Not fade away?

Notwithstanding the current involvement of Gordon Brown in the current political debate surrounding the Scottish Referendum vote, it is customary for former prime ministers of the United Kingdom to fade gracefully in to the background and make way for the new breed. Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath, Jim Callaghan and Harold Wilson all achieved this simple task without too much fuss. John Major occasionally interjects with an opinion but usually long after the boat has left the harbour. Tony Blair alone seems quite oblivious to this unspoken rule of British political life. An eleventh year leading the country was quite enough for Lady Thatcher when her party dispensed with her services. It seems that Tony Blair can't get enough of power. He is beginning to come across as one of those computer viruses which just won't go away once it has been granted access. We begin to rue the day we ever clicked the "yes" button. The virus invades our entire system and seems ubiquito...
3 comments
Read more

Denbighshire: 28 days to stand up for the most vulnerable in our society!

This week, my local council has announced they are seeking the views of the public on how to minimise the impact of the cuts they have already decided. This request for our views has been rather poorly advertised but in spite of that, enough local people have successfully found where to air their views. By sharing that information with their friends and neighbours, the local council will hopefully receive the views of more people than they were perhaps expecting. Where do I start? Living in a modern democracy (as we are assured we do), I would have expected the council to first discuss the available options for cuts with the public through a proper consultation exercise. It is evident they have chosen not to do this. Instead, they have taken it upon themselves to decide who gets their funding taken away and who doesn't. Thus, it seems that our stated views will have little or no effect anyway. The council has already decided and in their eyes that is the end of the matter. The ...
6 comments
Read more