Living with cancer? We would love your creative contributions for our next issue on community

Flourish magazine is back in 2027 and our call-out for contributions for out next issue is now live

We are looking for creative contributions to our seventh issue of the magazine, this time on the theme of ‘Community’, (see more below in box) from people:

•⁠ ⁠living with or beyond cancer.

•⁠ ⁠living in relation to it, e.g. a friend or family member of someone who has experienced cancer.

•⁠ ⁠working with people with cancer, such as carers or healthcare professionals.

You do not need to have any experience of the arts or to have published or shared you artwork publicly before.

Please read the full guidelines on our website before sending us your work: https://artlift.org/flourish-magazine-call-out-community.../

Please send your submissions to Editor-in-Chief Natalie Beech at natalie@artlift.org by Monday 28 December, 5pm (GMT).

See latest issue and past issues at: https://artlift.org/artlift-programmes/flourish/flourish-magazine/

Flourish Magazine is supported by Macmillan Cancer Support.

See blog on social support and community being key element of healing: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2021/03/what-can-make-biggest-difference-to-our.html

See blog on Wigwam support groups and community: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2021/05/building-community-of-peer-led-support.html

See blog on community being part of answer to NHS struggles: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2024/12/an-answer-to-rising-costs-and-chronic.html

See blog on social prescribing at: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2019/12/social-prescribing-for-people-living.html

Petition launched to fund whole-person cancer care

Dale Atkinson who spoke at the recent amazing Yes to Life Charity conference has just set up a petition - here he writes why - please consider also signing. Link at bottom.

Dale Atkinson, Stage IV cancer patient | Non-Executive Director and Board Advisor | BSIO Exec Committee | Patient trust, risk and governance | Writer | Speaker: HIMSS, NCIM, Y2L | Ex-HSBC, DB, Schroders

Today is my last day of cancer treatment. And... this morning, Parliament finally published my petition 🎉 The timing couldn't be better. It's quite a bit softer than I first wrote it.

After a lot of back and forth, one line survived that I wasn't prepared to lose: "We believe other promising complementary and repurposed treatments deserve the same scrutiny."

Jane McLelland and Robin Daly MBE have pushed for this far longer than I have.
Here's why it matters. Around half of people with cancer use a complementary therapy at some point. Up to three quarters of them don't tell their doctor.

The most common reason? Nobody asked. So nobody records what we take, what it interacts with, or what happens to us. That isn't a safety system. It's a blind spot, and the system has chosen to protect its protocol over the patient.

The petition is the door. Here's what we want behind it:
- An All-Party Parliamentary Group to push for an independent systematic review
- A proper record of what patients are actually doing outside the system, and what happens to them
- Patient safety as the priority, not the protocol

And the one I'd fight hardest for: chemo-sensitivity testing. Right now, most people are started on the maximum dose their body can tolerate, then everyone waits to see what happens. A review of more than 300,000 patients found 42% of people on cancer drug treatment ended up in hospital. In clinical trials, treatment-related admissions were 16%. In the real world, 29%.

We already know testing first works. Since 2020, the NHS has tested patients for one gene before giving one of the most common chemo drug families. Carriers get a lower dose, and fewer of them end up seriously ill.

One gene.
One drug family.
Why stop there?

In 2018, a team at the Royal Marsden grew mini-tumours from patients' own biopsies and tested the drugs on them first. In that study, when the test said a drug wouldn't work, it didn't. Every time. Since 2004, the main oncology guidance has said trials of these tests should be a priority.

Twenty years on, they still aren't routine. Then full genomic testing, with research into which treatments work against which genetics. I paid for that privately. Whether you get it shouldn't depend on whether you can afford it!

At 10,000 signatures, the Government responds.
At 100,000, it's considered for debate in Parliament.
But don't sign because you like me. Read it. Check the evidence. Challenge it. If it's the cancer care you'd want waiting for you or someone you love, sign it. Then tell somebody else why you did. Go to: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/783841

3 days left of our Flourish magazine exhibition

Our Flourish exhibition has opened at The Bon at University of Gloucestershire's Arts Health & Wellbeing Centre! Yesterday there was a wonderful celebration of the art by people living with cancer. The exhibition runs until 14 November, come and see some of the beautiful submissions to Artlift's Flourish Magazine in person - from sculpture to embroidery to paintings - marking 20 years of Artlift and celebrating creative health. See latest issue and past issues at: https://artlift.org/artlift-programmes/flourish/flourish-magazine/

Great update on 12 natural compounds that can help

Chris Woollams has updated his '12 natural compounds that fight prostate cancer': Ursolic acid, Curcumin, Reservatrol, Tomatoes, Green tea, Melatonin, Quercetin, Ginger, Black Cumin Seed Oil, Capsaicin, Berberine and Fish Oils. Go to: https://www.canceractive.com/article/12-natural-compounds-that-fight-prostate-cancer

'Making skillful decisions at a glance'

'Making skillful decisions at a glance' is the title of a post by Cancer Choices. It is a useful start to anyone diagnosed with cancer - helping to slow down, understand their options, and make choices that reflect both medical evidence and what matters most to them. The 'guide' also offers a simple framework—time, diagnosis, options, decide, act, and review—with questions to ask your doctor and yourself along the way. Although it is from the US much of it is also relevant to us here in the UK. 

See the post at: https://cancerchoices.org/resources/cancer-handbooks/how-to-integrate-your-choices/making-skillful-cancer-treatment-decisions

Chris Wark interviews fat expert Udo Erasmus

I've looked at fats and prostate cancer several times in this blog, this video is a useful addition to the discussion: https://www.chrisbeatcancer.com/udo-erasmus-on-the-truth-about-seed-oils-omega-3s-and-healthy-fats/

Here's a copy of the show notes below - check the link out for the video.

Show Notes
-How pesticide poisoning changed Udo’s life [2:51]
-The essential nutrients your body needs [6:55]
-Udo’s surprising take on cholesterol, fiber, and stress [9:58]
-Udo’s journey into fat research [12:38]
-How industrial processing damages oils [13:53]
-Are seed oils really bad for you? [26:25]
-The healthiest fats to eat [29:36]
-Why omega-3 to omega-6 ratio matters [32:55]
-Are EPA and DHA essential? [35:03]
-Udo’s concerns about fish oil supplements [38:01]
-Fish, algae oil, and krill oil for omega-3s [42:51]
-Omega-3s, omega-6s, and brain health [46:13]
-The carb addiction cycle [53:53]
-The worst way to consume oils [57:41]
-Udo’s mostly raw, plant-based diet [1:03:20]
-Udo’s favorite nuts and seeds [1:06:22]
-Udo’s take on olive oil, coconut oil, MCT oil, and keto diets [1:10:06]
-Lithium and brain health [1:16:02]

New interpretation of cancer

I've written here before about Mark Lintern's Cell Suppression Theory of Cancer - in his latest blog he sets out the case for a clearer explanation for cancer. It is well worth a read at: https://marklinterncst.substack.com/p/the-cancer-vigilante-manifesto

You can also hear Mark share his recent insights into the nature of prostate cancer in this great radio show: https://myunexpectedguide.blogspot.com/2026/01/at-last-explanation-for-prostate-cancer.html And in that link there are further links to more from Mark.