Health and wellbeing information and support

Below we have given links to websites, information sheets, videos and tutorials that you might find helpful.

Diet and exercise

Macmillan Cancer Support have lots of useful information and videos about eating well and keeping active.

It is safe for you to be active before, during and after treatment. You should try and achieve the recommended physical activity guidelines.

For more bespoke information, King’s provides an outpatient cancer rehabilitation service, offering assessment and intervention from our specialist oncology physiotherapist and dietitian.

Side effects of cancer and its treatments

Psychological support

Scarf tying and wigs

Cancer treatments may cause changes to your normal hair growth, such as thinning or hair loss. You might want to consider wearing a headscarf or wig.

All chemotherapy patients at King’s are entitled to a free wig and all cancer patients are entitled to a free headscarf. To book a wig appointment or to receive your headscarf please contact the Macmillan Information and Support Centre on 020 3299 5228.

HeadWrappers are a registered charity hosting both one-to-one and group online sessions to people who are losing their hair through cancer treatment. They show that there are alternatives to wigs, by demonstrating scarf tying techniques and providing scalp care advice. To find out more, email advice@headwrappers.org.

Benefits

If you or your family are living with cancer and struggling to cope with its financial impact, there is help available. We know cancer can be expensive. Your income may go down and your spending may go up. You may have to pay for a special diet, childcare, higher heating costs or travel to and from hospital.

We have a benefits advisor who can help you with these concerns. To book an appointment with them please contact the Macmillan Information and Support Centre on 020 3299 5228.

There are also several grants and benefits that you may be entitled to.

Work and cancer

To help you navigate working with cancer and the challenges you might face, we have created some informative videos featuring experts from the Working with Cancer organisation answering a range of questions:

Talking to children about cancer

It is often challenging talking to children about cancer and knowing how best to support them. The Fruitfly collective provide practical solutions to support and assist with some of the cancer related issues that many families face. They have a series of videos that you might find helpful.

Young adults and cancer

If you are aged 20 to 40, Shine Cancer Support and Trekstock provide specific support for young adults with cancer during and after treatment.

Resources for patients with accessibility needs

British Sign Language
Macmillan Cancer Support have a number of videos available in British Sign Language on their YouTube channel.

Hospital passports
If you have a learning disability, a hospital passport gives us important information about you, including personal details, the type of medication you are taking, and any pre-existing health conditions.

The passport also includes information about how you prefer to communicate. This can be very important when you are being treated at a hospital and will help staff give you the best care.

You can download a hospital passport from Mencap.

Easy read information
For easy read information on cancer types, investigations and treatments, please follow the links below:

Other useful websites

Southwark Wellbeing hub
Lambeth wellbeing hub
Bromley Well
Lewisham wellbeing hub
St Christopher’s Hospice
Live Through This (LGBTIQ+ support group)
Breast Cancer Haven
Paul’s Cancer Support Centre
Look good feel better (skin care and pampering for both male and female cancer patients)
Cancer Black Care
Cancer Wellbeing London