Spiritual support
Many people’s faith changes or deepens when facing life with a low-grade brain tumour. If you have been helped during your experience by a religious or spiritual organisation, book, or individual and would like to send us a short article about how they have helped you, we would welcome the chance to share your source of inspiration with others.
If you have never explored faith or spirituality, we hope that the links below provide a starting point for you. Please note that these links are intended to be neither exhaustive nor exclusive, we realise that everyone is an individual and finds hope from a source personal to them.
The Alpha Course is an opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian Faith, and runs regularly at churches throughout the UK. You can also link from there to the Marriage Course, which may help you explore ways in which the pressures of living with a low-grade brain tumour can be handled in a positive way.
You may also like to explore Christian Spirituality at one of the numerous UK Christian Retreat Centres.
Chai; Lifeline Cancer Support and Centre for Health offers emotional support for Jewish cancer patients, their families and friends. They offer one-to-one support by phone, at home, in hospital or hospice. Weekly support groups and monthly coffee mornings run in some areas. Complementary therapies are offered.
Helpline: 020 8202 4567
Jewish Care is the largest health and social care charity for the Jewish Community, and offers wide ranging support services in London and the South East of England.
Tel. 020 8731 6788
If you’ve always been interested in Eastern and Western philosophy and would like to know how to make it relevant to your life in a practical way, check out the School of Economic Science who regularly run short “Philosophy Works” courses throughout the UK.
There are Kadampa Buddhist Centres throughout the World, all offering retreats with a minimal charge. Many centres in the UK offer free food and accommodation if you are able to contribute to the life of their centre during your stay, even if they don’t advertise this widely on their individual websites. Could you help with the cooking, DIY, gardening, shop or cafe perhaps? In return you could meet some truly inspiring people who may be able to help you with the challenges that you are facing at the moment.
Western Chan Fellowship run Zen Buddhist retreats in the UK, which are open equally to both Buddhists and non-Buddhists.
Going on Retreat.com is a website run by the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. Founded in 1967, FWBO is one of the principal Buddhist movements in the UK, India, and Australasia as well as being increasingly well-established in Western Europe and the USA. There are around eighty FWBO urban centres and retreat centres throughout the world, and activities in over twenty countries
The Good Retreat Guide is a central website covering a wide range of retreats including Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Catholic, Islamic and many other faith groups throughout the world