My introduction to Penny Brohn Cancer Care

It used to be the Bristol Cancer Help Centre, and it has now been reborn as Penny Brohn Cancer Care, just outside the city, a large Georgian residence fully and beautifully modernized in a landscaped garden setting. Two of my daughters had recommended I go there and I called to attend for a “CancerPoint” appointment, which in this case was to be an hour’s general consultation followed by “Healing” for a further hour. The first part of the session was an interchange of information about my diagnosis, medical history and medication etc. and the details of the services they provide. I was interviewed by a lady whose training in cancer care was evident from the start. She is an engaging individual with singular knowledge of the different treatment regimes, a good psychologist (from the way she handled my questions) and indeed a very sincere caring individual. She explained that their object is not to cure cancer but to treat the whole body and mind so that the effect of the condition is minimised physically and spiritually. She told me about a 5-day residential course they offer and I determined to do this. It’s not cheap but there can be ways to get funding if necessary.  She ran through the various elements of the centre’s offerings, which include consultation, healing and various therapies (eg aromatherapy, acupuncture, nutritional therapy, meditation, relaxation, massage, shiatsu, reflexology and counselling) – a comprehensive package of physical, emotional and spiritual support.

This took place in an ultra-modern, restful and harmonizing environment.

Although I could not take advantage of the exquisite food in the restaurant, I did manage a bowl of delicious lentil and carrot soup, before proceeding to the healer. She is a genteel mature lady of serene countenance and a ready smile, sparkling eyes – everyone’s idea of a loving “auntie”, who put me at my ease immediately and then asked me to lie on a couch with my knees and head supported by cushions, the back of the couch being raised to a comfortable position.

After explaining that she was about to release thoughts of “unconditional love”, she told me to relax and allow thoughts and images to simply “drift through” my mind and not to try to hold them. She would, she said, ring a soft bell to warn me when I would be “coming out” of whatever I was about to go into. The lights were dimmed, the curtains drawn.

The next hour was an astonishing experience. I kept my eyes closed as suggested and soon began to see amazing images in the blackness of my mind. (Meantime my healer was just barely touching my shoulders, head, legs and feet, although the one time I “peeked” she wasn’t actually in contact with me at all, yet I  was sure I could feel her touch!) The first images were a series of reddish purple diamond shapes, inside of which were incredibly clear snippets of illuminated manuscripts in red and black with pictures on a parchment-coloured background. Each “manuscript” had text in a different language – the first was biblical Hebrew, the next Arabic, the next I couldn’t recognise but it looked like Thai or similar (How did I visulaize this if I didn’t know the language characters?), the next Chinese…

Soon, I kept “dropping off” and reawakening several times with images, some clearly identifiable, some abstract appearing and fading away. At one point I clearly exhaled very heavily indeed as if expelling something. Later these colourful images changed to gentle shapes in silver and white with no other colours. All the while my healer was moving around me silently, until, after what seemed to be perhaps fifteen minutes but was in actuality just under an hour, the muted bell rang and she asked me to “return”. The couch was lowered so I could stand up and, when I did so, I felt rather as though I had woken up from a deep sleep. I was then asked to imagine myself growing roots from my feet through the ground so that I could “once again connect with the earth”.

Next, I was offered a glass of water and told that from now on I should think of anything I drank as melting the tumour away, a concept wich appealed greatly. My healer told me that I could at any time return to that state merely by closing my eyes.

I must say she impressed me enormously by her auntie-like presence and her deeply knowing demeanour, something I can’t quite understand, but which was nevertheless incredibly strong. From her small and rather frail frame, this middle-aged (maybe bordering on “elderly”) lady emanated immense power and strength. Quite an experience, which left me feeling elated and somehow purged.

I will go back to Bristol for a 5-day course starting May 11th, and will record my experiences in these pages.