Support, nurture, repair: Providing support for younger women navigating breast cancer
Breast cancer is often perceived as a disease most common in older women, and advice can be heavily influenced by that perception. But for young women affected by the disease, who can they turn to for information and understanding?
This was the question that sparked the creation of the Aurora Breast Cancer Wellbeing Charity. We sat down with the organisations founder, Ms. Anushka Chaudhry, to hear more about the reasons for setting up the charity, who they support and how people can get involved.
What is the story behind Aurora Breast Cancer Wellbeing?
Aurora Breast Cancer Wellbeing was set up for young women diagnosed with breast cancer, predominantly those who are premenopausal. Whilst it’s run locally in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, it’s also open to anyone within the UK who can attend the events.
It was born out of a gap in the market to support specific age groups, especially the younger demographics. We wanted to set something up that helps people navigate the effects of surgery and treatment under the tag of ‘support, nurture and repair’.
What does the Aurora community stand for?
Aurora is about networking and creating a sisterhood of support for others going through a similar experience. This is often facilitated through events and activities including:
- Monthly coffee mornings
- Supper clubs
- Annual wellbeing retreat
- Yoga sessions
What makes Aurora different from other patient-focused organisations?
Aurora Breast Cancer Wellbeing is here to support a unique and often forgotten demographic of breast cancer patients. We help anyone who is premenopausal and it’s all about providing that support to those that don’t know where to turn to. We want them to come away feeling seen and heard by someone who gets it.
What does the future hold for Aurora?
We’re always looking to expand our groups to be more accessible, especially through community events and the sharing of helpful, useful resources.
The community is also looking to set up an additional support group to help those who are going through, or may go on to develop, secondary cancer. It’s so important that we’re always looking to cater for the evolving needs of the breast cancer community in order to avoid any patient feeling isolated.
Aurora are always open to new members, so please do get in touch with us if you’d like to find out more.
Interested in joining the community?
Simply email Ms. Chaudhry and the Aurora Breast Cancer Wellbeing team at Aurorabcw@outlook.com to find out more.