What is Headstart?

Headstart is a support group for head and neck cancer patients and their carers, families and friends.

 

What is Headstart hoping to achieve?

Headstart provides an environment for people to come along and share experiences, meetings are held every three months. We have talks from professionals and patients on different topics; for example, a patient's experience of having had head and neck cancer, complementary therapy, eating and drinking issues, what is currently happening in the Cancer Network pertinent to head and neck cancer.

We provide refreshments at our meetings, which are held at Maidstone Oncology Centre and at Queen Victoria Hospital in the Maud Barclay Room.

 

When was Headstart formed, and by whom?

Headstart was formed in November 1997 by Jo Kerr, Macmillan Head and Neck CNS, Maxillofacial Unit, who works at Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, in East Grinstead, West Sussex along with her colleague Brooke Quinteros, a Highly Specialist Adult Speech and Language Therapist.

The following year Debbie Collins, a Macmillan Radiotherapy Specialist and Jayne Goddard, Staff Nurse in the head and neck outpatient clinic agreed to facilitate meetings in the Oncology Unit on Saturdays.  This has proved to be extremely beneficial to patients and their families, providing another venue for patients, families and friends to go to.

Since then meetings have been held every three months alternating between sites. In 2006 and 2007 members of HEADSTART have been involved in Peer Review of the head and neck cancer services in Kent and Medway Cancer Network.

 

What does Headstart do?

Through the regular meetings and network of contacts from within both the nursing and support staff and former patients and carers, Headstart provides an informal support network for all those touched by head and neck cancer in the region.

In addition, we aim to buy equipment to help head and neck cancer patients, their families and carers.
Some of the items financed so far include: the purchase of cancerbackup booklets, travel costs to the support group for those unable to find transport, refreshments for the support group, Tricia Feber head and neck cancer nursing books for hospital libraries within our Cancer Network and for ward areas, communication aids, a Doppler to monitor flaps after surgery, two tracheostomy trolleys for ward areas, and tracheostomy blue boxes for ward areas for patients.

We received a generous donation from Dalton’s Weekly.

The specialist Speech & Language Therapist is delighted and most grateful to be able to buy two special Voice Amplifiers for in-patient use and for demonstration and trialling on out –patients who suffer permanent or temporary voice weakness and/or loss. A special Eye-Pointing Frame will prove invaluable for aiding communication for tracheotomised patients on the intensive care unit.

A special computer software programme of pictures needed to personalise communication aides will be an added boon to improving the quality of speech aides for patients.

 

How necessary are donations to support Headstart's work?

The donations enable us to provide resources, provide refreshments and to meet the needs of patients and their families in the future.

HEADSTART is part of the Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Registered Charity No.1056120.