Alaw ward, Ysbyty Gwynedd was the first hospital to offer mindfulness to oncology patients in the UK. Funded by The Alaw Endowment Fund and Team Irfon, our aim is to help people who have had a diagnosis of cancer to Live Fully by developing Mindfulness skills. Having had a diagnosis of cancer, there may well be times when we have difficult experiences and emotions, feel anxious about the future and feel low in mood. A mindfulness practice helps us to be fully present and aware of what is happening right here and now. Without Mindfulness training, we tend to be in ‘automatic pilot’ much of the time. We might be driving down the road whilst at the same time worrying about something in the future or drifting back to memories of the past. This is very normal but can be unhelpful for it often makes things worse. With Mindfulness training we learn to approach experiences whether ‘good’ ‘bad’ or ‘neutral’ with curiosity and openness. With practice this helps us to be able to manage difficult experiences with more steadiness
Research has shown that mindfulness reduces levels of anxiety and depression, improves sleep and increases levels of wellbeing. We teach 8 week Mindfulness courses fully funded, to people who have a diagnosis of Cancer and have been diagnosed or treated in Alaw Ward. MBCT for Cancer was developed as a specific programme for people with cancer by Trish Bartley, an experienced and senior Mindfulness Teacher and herself an Alaw Ward patient twice. Since 2001 hundreds have benefited from the courses in Bangor. Various small scale research projects have taken place which adds to well- established world wide evidence that mindfulness reduces levels of depression, depressive symptoms, anxiety and sleep difficulties in people with cancer and improves levels of wellbeing and optimism. MBCT for Cancer is now taught widely in the UK and internationally
