Free counselling helps blood cancer patients face dark emotions
A woman from Gloucestershire diagnosed with a rare blood cancer three years ago says free counselling from charity Linc helped her and her family confront difficult feelings. The charity has now expanded beyond hospital settings, pledging no waiting times.
Emma Tom, from Chalford in Gloucestershire, was diagnosed three years ago with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer. Following her diagnosis, she began attending counselling sessions with Linc, a Gloucester-based blood cancer charity.
Tom said the sessions helped her bring difficult, "dark" feelings into the open, describing it as the only way she could work through the fear brought on by her illness.
An unexpected diagnosis
Tom's diagnosis followed a prolonged period of tiredness, breathlessness and aching. Several blood tests initially returned normal results, but one taken at the end of the summer holidays in 2023 prompted her GP to order a blood transfusion and bone marrow biopsy. Following these procedures at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, she was diagnosed and required immediate treatment.
The mother-of-two said the first days in hospital passed in a blur, and that the hardest part was confronting the possibility of not being there to see her children grow up. Although she has a supportive husband and friends, she said that sometimes what's needed is someone who doesn't try to fix the situation but simply gives space to sit with it.
Charity expands its reach
Linc chief executive Emma Neal said that while hospital-based clinical care and support were excellent, the charity's services don't necessarily need to be delivered in a clinical setting, noting that returning to hospital repeatedly can be traumatic for some patients. Previously based at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and Cheltenham General Hospital, Linc now also offers sessions online or in person at The Forum in Gloucester to patients at any stage of diagnosis, as well as their loved ones, with a guarantee of no waiting times provided the charity receives enough support.
