VACO

Jan's Dream and the Birth of Cancer Buddies Network www.cancerbuddiesnetwork.org  

Jan and I had been friends for a long time through Jan's msn cancer support group - website http://groups.msn.com/JaniesJewels and had spoken on the phone a few times.

Jan had told me her dream in life was to set up and an interactive website to be able to support everyone who has been affected by cancer, so she set about looking into this amazing challenge. Jan only dreams big dreams! I reckon a bit like myself!  

I remember finally meeting Jan and her husband at Macmillan Conference in Liverpool. It was an incredible moment for us both and it was pretty amazing how we had never met before yet somehow we knew each other!  We both had a wonderful day and parted company and I just knew as we said our goodbyes Jan would succeed as I could see the sheer detemination in her and she also had the support of her wonderful husband Colin, which is needed when any patient decides to take a commitment like this to such levels and succeed.

Jan's dream finally came true for her on the 13th August 2006 when she finally got to launch her website!




www.cancerbuddiesnetwork.org

Proving that cancer need never be a lonely experience

Cancer Buddies Network (CBN) is an online charity support network for anyone affected by cancer. It has been designed specifically to link individuals with each other for support and friendship on a one-to-one basis in complete safety and privacy, and on the lively forum.

Everyone needs someone to talk to who has been through a similar experience, someone who understands because they’ve been there themselves. Through CBN, members can search for a buddy by type of cancer, where they live, age, gender and interests, etc.

“When I first heard those heart-stopping words, ‘You have cancer,’ my comfortable little world changed for ever. Through the haze of voices going on around me, I was aware of another woman who was receiving the same devastating news. I resolved to find out who she was so we could help each other through this,” says CBN Founder Jan Rutter. “We became the best of buddies and discussed all the things happening to us that nobody else understood because we were the ones experiencing it, feeling it and living through it.”

Support from families and friends provides a vital boost at turbulent times in our lives.  But there’s nothing to compare with sharing experiences with those who know exactly how you feel. One of CBN’s 1,000+ members explains: “Though having a wonderful and caring family, they could not be here 24 hours a day and I felt they should not see me falling apart too often.

The CBN site was the one place I could come to and not have to try to be brave or put a smile on my face. I also didn’t have to be mum and support the family. It didn’t matter if I cried or ranted and raved, everyone just listened and cared. Now I still need support but am able to offer that support to others as well. Unless I am away, I come on here every day. I don’t know how I would have got through the last 20 months if I hadn’t had CBN. It’s the long nights when on your own the pain  is unbearable, being able to pour out your feelings here was cathartic and enabled me to carry on for another day, then another and another, and guess  what, I’m still here. My CBN friends mean the world to me and with them the future isn’t quite so bleak.”