Macmillan Therapeutic Family Service
This service provides emotional and psychological support to children/teenagers and their parents when someone close to them has a cancer diagnosis
Based at The Ipswich Hospital in the Woolverstone Macmillan Centre.
Angelika Rohrig works Tuesday, Wednesday and every other Thursday
To get in touch call directly on 07909 878 361.
You can leave a confidential message on this number and Angelika will call you back as soon as possible.
Angelika gives an overview of the service in the video below:
What can be offered to support you and your children/teenagers
Initially Angelika contact you by phone to discuss your concerns. Sometimes it’s helpful to meet with you as a family to explore what support you may need.
Support may be one of the following:-
Specific support, information or advice to you as a parent;
Advice and suggestions as to how you might start those difficult conversations with your children about someone having cancer and how to continue to support them;
Liaise with your children’s school or college;
Work directly with your children to explore coping strategies;
Different resources that could help you as a family cope together;
Signpost you to other specialists;
If needed, we can also offer help with preparing a child/teenager to cope with the loss of someone special.
Workshops for children/teenagers
Activity Days for young people who have a parent, grandparent or sibling with cancer
Workshops for children who have experienced the loss of someone special to them if they are already known to the service
Art and music workshops for children
If you think your child may benefit from one of the above workshops then please talk to or telephone Angelika who can provide you with details and any forthcoming dates
Support for teachers
Information and resources are also available to professionals working with children and families affected by cancer
Family Activity Days
2023: Family Activity Days have been paused owing to Covid-19
Organised by John Le Vay Cancer Support and Information Centre and Active Suffolk
The aim of the Family Activity Days
We aim to provide physical activity events throughout the year to offer cancer patients who have young families and are still of working age to spend time together socialising, supporting each other and enjoying different types of activities at the same time.
Activities so far have included badminton, table tennis, new age kurling, archery, Clip n Climb, skiing, tobogganing, crazy golf and some members have even taken part in the Great East Swim Family Project. "Fantastic opportunity for our group to be together and have fun. The events have been very well organised and it was a great morning's entertainment for all the family, we loved it! This type of activity day is very important because it offers the children the chance to do something positive and gives the adults the opportunity to share ideas and support. We can't wait to come back!" For more information, please contact:
Nick Pringle, tel: 01394 444605, e-mail: nick.pringle@activesuffolk.org
Louise Smith, tel: 01473 704935, e-mail: louise.m.smith@esneft.nhs.uk