Our Group

We have a mixture of open and speaker meetings:

The speaker meetings have ranged from underwear and swimwear companies, a travelling storyteller, Tai Chi, Fishing holidays, Feeling and Looking Good, etc. etc.

Most of us in the group know that it can be daunting to go along to that first meeting especially if you don’t know anyone. Please ring one of us (from our contact page) if you are uncertain about coming by yourself and we’ll make sure that we either meet you in the foyer of the hotel or, if you live near one of us, we’ll give you a lift. Alternatively, you might prefer to come along with a friend or female relative for support.

If you’d like to attend The PBCSG meet:
When? On the first Thursday of each month
Where? The Holiday Inn, West Thorpe Wood Road, Peterborough
What time? Between 7.00pm- 9.00pm February-November inclusive. (No meeting in January and we have a meal out at Christmas in December).
£3 subscription paid on the day for tea, coffee and biscuits. There is free parking with disabled access available within the hotel.

Keep up to date with our meetings / functions with our Facebook page – LIKE us here.

Having said that we are a support group for women who have breast cancer, we mustn’t forget that it can also affect men, although it is rare.

Fewer than 300 cases are diagnosed each year in the U.K, compared with over 38,000 cases of breast cancer in women. That’s about one man for every 130 women diagnosed. Most of the information aimed at women is relevant for men with breast cancer because the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment are very similar. The emotional and psychological impact though will be different and finding support may not be as easy simply because of the rarity of the disease in men.

We offer each other mutual support and encouragement, including lots of laughter! One of the amazing things is that there are many of us who have become close friends as a result of going to the group.

Typically we range in age from early 30’s to middle 70’s and the vast majority of us lead full and active lives since our diagnosis. We have women in our group who are newly diagnosed, going through treatment or who are 15 years plus down the road. Although we have 70+ members we normally have around 15-20 people at any one meeting.

We realise the group might not suit everyone and people will always dip in and out as and when they feel they need to which is what it’s all about. We hope that for those people who don’t or can’t come to our group that this website will go some small way in letting you know that there are a great many organisations out there that can offer help.

We are extremely lucky that our two local Breast Care nurses are committed to our group and attend our meetings.

They provide the group with relevant up to date information and a wealth of experience.

Most people coming for the first time will have already met one of the Breast Care Nurses in the clinic.

If you need to contact them their direct line is 01733 673061 (answer machine) and the Breast Unit on 01733 673057 (secretary) and they aim to return your call within two working days, however this is dependent on the number of requests of contact. If it is important for you to speak to them the same day call the hospital switchboard on 01733 678000 and ask them to bleep 1315.

As mentioned under “National Support” there is a forum called BCPALS run by women who have had breast cancer.

They have created a private forum for our support group where we can have the opportunity to communicate with one another.

Please visit www.bcpals.org.uk for details on how to join.

Monthly Newsletter to sign up to.

If you can’t make one of our meetings you can still stay up-to-date with our monthly newsletter. Sign up now so you don’t miss out. They are all in pdf format for easy downloading. Visit our newsletter page.