Prostate cancer awareness in Movember

27 November 2024

You may have recently seen in the media the sad news that six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy has been diagnosed with palliative prostate cancer. As we are in the month of ‘Movember’, it comes as a stark reminder of the importance of increasing men’s awareness of the condition.

The prostate is a small gland under the bladder which is about the size of a walnut. Cancer of the prostate is the most common type of cancer in men in the UK. It is estimated that as many as 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

While anyone with a prostate could potentially develop prostate cancer, certain factors increase the risk of it developing. It is more common in men as they get older, in men of black ethnicity, and in men who have family members with prostate cancer.

What are the symptoms?

Some men can go years without noticing any symptoms. Symptoms of prostate cancer can include:

• Blood in your urine or semen
• Needing to pass urine more frequently, straining while you urinate, or feeling your bladder has not fully emptied
• Erectile dysfunction
• Back or bone pain with no identified cause
• Unexplained pain on passing urine, especially if it happens regularly.

These symptoms do not mean you necessarily have prostate cancer, as there are other possible causes which are more common. But it does mean you should get a check-up with your GP.

Where to find more information

For more information on prostate cancer, you can go to the NHS page on prostate cancer at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/prostate-cancer/, or check out the ‘Movember’ link at https://uk.movember.com/men-s-health/prostate-cancer

Sam Goodall

Trainee Occupational Health Physician

28 November 2024

The short answer, sometimes. 

This year, Black Friday falls on 29 November and deals will typically run until Cyber Monday, 2 December. So, it’s worth thinking about what it is you might like to buy.  

We’ve all done it, bought something because it was a cracking deal, even though, we don’t really need (or want) it. But considering the cost-of-living crisis we find ourselves in, we really need to consider what it is we are buying, and if we can actually afford it. 

Martin Lewis’ number one Black Friday tip is:

Always do price comparisons before clicking the ‘buy now’ button. There are sites that can help you with this - MoneySavingExpert.com recommend price tracking tools, CamelCamelCamel and PriceSpy 

There are also discounts available for NHS staff, through Health Service Discounts and Blue Light Card all year round, so don’t forget to check them out! 

Katie 

Health and Wellbeing Facilitator

As party season rapidly approaches, many people face a considerable amount of pressure to facilitate the “perfect holiday”. Whether this is getting into tricky financial situations trying to buy the “perfect gifts” or offering to host a dinner party for more people than you are comfortable with, our physical and mental health can suffer.

The first step in avoiding festive burnout is to know the warning signs. If we notice early on that the plans we have made are making us feel less than jolly, we can do something about it.

Signs you have taken on too much:

• Feeling overwhelmed or irritable
• Physical Fatigue and trouble sleeping
• A lack of enthusiasm for the plans you have made
• Struggling to focus or make decisions

But of course, once we know we are overwhelmed, we need to act, so it doesn’t get worse. Setting our boundaries with expectations around gift giving, hosting and having time to relax and unwind can prove very effective, as long as you communicate clearly to loved ones what you need (or don’t need) from them, and follow your set boundaries. If you have a house full of family and friends that you are trying your best to keep happy, no one will judge you for wanting a quiet half an hour to yourself, and if they do, I wouldn’t invite them next year!

Delegate, delegate, delegate.

Cooking for 15 people? Ask everyone to bring a side dish, bring their own drinks, get someone to bring dessert or set the table, the more you can get your guests to do, the better. People are often keen to help and get involved, so rather than dismissing their offers of support, lean into the teamwork, and reduce the number of things you have to think about, especially if it involves the clean up afterwards. It will also be less time stuck in the kitchen or walking around with a bin bag continuously, isolated from festivities and joy.

Leave space for rest

While you’re scheduling in catchups with friends, kids’ parties, events, drinks with cousins and office parties, remember to leave some time where you can reconnect with yourself, to have some time to catch up with your own thoughts. I strongly recommend scheduling this into your day, whether it’s the whole of Christmas eve, an hour or two before you need to start cooking the dinner or making sure everyone has left your house before 9pm so you can curl up on the sofa with your favourite movie, hobby or even nothing at all if you fancy!

Your experience is important too

It’s wonderful that you want your loved ones to have the best time, but what about you? What do you want out of the holidays? What are your priorities for yourself? What do you want? These questions are important to.

I’m not saying you have to put yourself on top of the festive priority list throughout the whole season (although if you did, I would applaud you) but to just keep in mind how you’re feeling, checking in on yourself and responding, with kindness, to those feelings. That is how to beat festive burnout.

So, to wrap up (pardon the pun), let’s focus on what to consider:

• Your own feelings
• Getting everyone involved in preparation and cleanup
• Scheduling in rest time
• Boundaries
• Realistic expectations
• Nourish your body and mind
• Accept imperfection and embrace joy

A huge thank you to all of our colleagues that will be working over the festive break, it’s great if you want to fit in social events and excitement between shifts, but if you don’t, and you’d rather relax and unwind, that’s okay too.

Happy Holidays!

Neomi

Health and Wellbeing Facilitator

As we approach January, we start to think about New Year’s resolutions. Before we do, it’s good to ask ourselves the following three questions: 

“How often do I make New Year’s resolutions?” 

“How long do they last?” 

“How do they make me feel?” 

There’s nothing wrong with pledging to make positive changes and wanting to live your best life, however, what we set, and how we set them can negatively affect our mental wellbeing.  

Research by YouGov.co.uk found that 90% of people do not complete their resolutions, with around 25% ‘quitting’ by the end of the first week.   

New Year’s resolutions are often very clear cut – win or lose. But because of this it can lead us to believe if we do not keep to them, we are ‘failures’ and have a negative impact on our self esteem. 

There are several reasons why New Year’s resolutions don’t work 

1. Shame based motivation 

The most common resolutions are based around losing weight and/or quitting habits that are ‘unhealthy’.  

If we base our resolutions on shame, we’re more likely to feel bad about ourselves, and this isn’t a good place to start from when we’re looking at making tweaks or changes to our lifestyle 

2. Tradition vs motivation 

Why are we setting this resolution? Is it because we actually want to achieve it? Or is it because we think we should be seen to make a change?  

We can start to take a positive action for our wellbeing at any time during the year, whether that’s in January or July.  

3. Setting unrealistic goals 

If you want to run next year’s London Marathon, that’s great. But if you’ve not donned a pair of trainers since you left school at 16, is this really an achievable goal? 

No resolution is too small, so start there.  

4. Not planning for obstacles 

When we’re looking to make a change, things will, inevitably, get in the way. So, think about those things. Plan for them. You’re not a robot, you’re human. Therefore, you’re not perfect. Don’t be too hard on yourself when things don’t go according to plan.  

So how do we make New Year’s resolutions better? 

It takes between 10-12 weeks for a habit to become the norm. So, setting a resolution with a realistic timeframe is key.  

The language we use in our resolutions is really important, too. Instead of using phrases such as “This year I want to…” or “I must…”, try reframing to “I would like to…” or “I will try to…” 

Some examples of kinder resolutions may be: 

• “I will try to eat healthier foods, but I will try to practice self-compassion when I struggle with this.”  

• “I will try to listen to my body and give it what it needs to thrive both mentally and physically. 

• “I will try to spend less time on my phone, and embrace being more present in my surroundings.”  

New Year’s resolutions should ultimately be about positivity, where we make positive changes to support our physical and mental wellbeing. Regardless of when we set our goals, self compassion and patience are key to achieving them. 

Wishing you all the best for 2025!

Katie

Health & Wellbeing Facilitator

New Year, New Fitness-Focus

January 2025

New year can be a time to reset, set new goals and adopt healthier habits for the year ahead. For many of us, getting more structured exercise and/or simply building more general activity into our daily lives, can be high on the list. But why is being active regularly so important, and what are the best types to do and how much?...

The case for being more active

We do tend to be less active nowadays with research suggesting that as adults, we can spend more than 7 hours a day sitting down, be it at work, on transport or in leisure time. This whilst evidence is also emerging that sedentary behaviour, such as sitting or lying down for long periods, is bad for our health- inactivity has been described as a "silent killer" by the Department of Health and Social Care.

‘’We know that regular exercise helps reduce the risk of long-term illnesses and has enormous health benefits, as well as reducing pressure on the NHS.’’- NHS National Medical Director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis.

The different types of exercise and guidelines

The current UK Physical Activity Guidelines for adults focus on four key messages:

1. For good physical and mental health, adults should aim to be physically active every day. Any activity is better than none, and more is better still.
2. Adults should do activities to develop or maintain strength in the major muscle groups. These could include heavy gardening, carrying heavy shopping, or resistance exercise. Muscle strengthening activities should be done at least two days a week, but any strengthening activity is better than none.
3. Each week, adults should accumulate at least 150 minutes (2 1/2 hours) of moderate intensity activity (such as brisk walking or cycling); or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity (such as running); or even shorter durations of very vigorous intensity activity (such as sprinting or stair climbing); or a combination of moderate, vigorous and very vigorous intensity activity.
4. Adults should aim to minimise the amount of time spent being sedentary, and when physically possible should break up long periods of inactivity with at least light physical activity.

Why muscle strengthening?

Often overlooked and misunderstood, protecting space in your schedule to regularly perform muscle strengthening movements on at least 2 days per week, is time well spent. The use it or lose it principal does apply to our fitness and strength, and unfortunately with age, we are fighting the natural decline in muscle mass and bone density which typically occurs from around 50 years of age. So, challenging our bodies consistently with a form of resistance training that targets all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) to the point that the muscles feel temporarily fatigued and unable to repeat the exercise until rested for a short period, can improve your strength and help maintain function as we age.

There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether you're at home or in a gym. Doing movements using your own bodyweight or adding weights or things like carrying heavy shopping bags and household items, can count.

Here’s are some short videos, showing examples of bodyweight exercises that you can do to focus on your legs and hips, abdomen and lower back.

 Legs and hips

Abdomen and lower back

 Also within the Trust, there’s our yoga offerings and in person Weekly exercise classes, that can help you achieve your twice weekly target.

Cardiovascular activity

Can also be referred to as aerobic or endurance activities, these improve the strength of your heart, lungs and circulatory system. Activities should be measured in time and we should be aiming to do 150 minutes at moderate intensity per week or 75 minutes per week at vigorous intensity.

Moderate and Vigorous activities

Although activity of any intensity provides health benefits, greater intensity provides more benefit for the same amount of time. Activities of at least moderate-to-vigorous intensity achieves the full breadth of health benefits.

Moderate activity raises your heart rate, and makes you breathe faster and feel warmer. One way to tell if you're working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk, but not sing.

Vigorous intensity activity makes you breathe hard and fast. If you're working at this level, you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath

Very vigorous activities are exercises performed in short bursts of maximum effort broken up with rest. This type of exercise is also known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

Things to consider

Set realistic goals. Make sure your activity and its intensity are appropriate for your current fitness level. It’s a good idea to speak to your GP first if you have not exercised for some time, or if you have medical conditions or concerns. Fitness Instructors and Personal Trainers can help with pulling a plan together and show you how to perform exercise correctly. Qualifications can vary though and its best to check that they meet your needs. Instructor qualifications range from level 2 to 4. The higher the level, the more specialist knowledge and skills the instructor has.

The guidelines listed are suitable for disabled adults, older adults (65+), during pregnancy and for new mothers. Further details are below.

Physical activity guidelines: adults and older adults

Physical activity guidelines: disabled adults

Physical activity guidelines: pregnancy

Physical activity guidelines: after childbirth

Cost is another factor to think about. Mersey Care’s classes are free to access and our Health and Wellbeing Centre is available to use 24/7 at no charge too. Making use of the various Site Walking Maps can also be useful for getting some activity in at your base, plus a schedule for the 2025 edition of the NHS North West Games should be announced soon. External resources like the NHS Better Health website has links to apps and more free options.

Daniel Melling

Health and Wellbeing Coordinator

Level 4 Certificate in Physical Activity and Weight Management for Obese and Diabetic Clients

Level 4 Certificate in Physical Activity for the Management of Low Back Pain

Level 3 Certificate in Exercise Referral for Specific Controlled Conditions

Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training

My cancer story

I wanted to share my story, because if this resonates with you, as lonely a time as it can feel, please know that you are not on your own, and there are links at the end of this blog to support you. There is also a link to our Mental Health First Aid courses, to enable you to support your colleagues who may be experiencing something similar.

I also want to acknowledge the importance of cancer screening. As, without routine breast and bowel screening, the effects of cancer on my loved ones could have been different. 

I was 20 when my mum was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). It’s only now, nearly 20 years on, I think, ‘wow, that was tough. I don’t know how I got through that’.
I felt really lonely when my mum was in hospital. Both physically and mentally. Physically lonely, because at the time, it was just me, mum and the dog living at home, so when she went into hospital, it was just me and the dog. I did, however, have a fantastic big brother, and I don’t know how I would’ve got through the 3 months mum was in hospital without him - checking in on me and staying over when he could (he lived in Wales at the time) and being my taxi (along with my dad) to and from the hospital, because I was learning to drive.

Rightly, after we told people about mum’s diagnosis, people were concerned about her and ask how she was. She was being treated at The Christie, in Manchester, so there was plenty of support available for her. But there wasn’t much in the way of support for the family, or at least, I didn’t think there was at the time, which is why, I was mentally lonely.  However, I don’t know, if, at 20, I would’ve accessed any support that was available for me.  

If people asked how I was, I gave the standard, ‘fine, thanks’, because I didn’t want to acknowledge how I felt. I knew that mum was really poorly (and because that was the word used in hospital, we knew how serious it was), and because of various complications, there was a chance she wouldn’t make it. So, if I didn’t talk about how I was feeling, it wasn’t happening. To cut an extremely long story short, we were very lucky. The treatment worked, and she was doing well for the next 15 or so years. Apart from routine check-ups at the hospital, we put cancer to the back of our minds.

However, in 2021, after routine breast screening, mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. Mentally, I was more prepared for what happens next. I was older, married with children, and I’d been through it once before, but also, we knew mum was at higher risk of developing cancers in the future after leukaemia. 80% of breast cancer cases are in women over 50, so it’s not at all uncommon (compared to her ALL diagnosis which is a rare cancer, most common in children under the age of 4 – mum was 45!)
Again, we were lucky that after surgeries to remove the lump and lymph nodes, treatment worked, and mum is doing well.

My relationship with cancer, on my side of the family, is as positive as it could be.

On my husband’s side of the family, it’s not as positive.

In 2020 after routine screening, my father-in-law had been diagnosed with bowel cancer. Although the initial prognosis was good, there was an air of caution, as my husband’s side of the family had already lost someone to bowel cancer. My husband made himself busy with work, and doing the hospital trips with his parents. As with many cancer stories, there are peaks and troughs, and this was no different, with 2 years of good health. But in January 2024, my father-in-law died from metastatic bowel cancer. In the few weeks before and after he died, I took on as much of the household responsibility as I could – school runs/kids’ activities/general chores around the house, as I knew these were the last things that my husband would want to think about. My husband had lost his hero. My mother-in-law lost her husband. My children had lost their grandad. Watching those four people grieve was heartbreaking, while also grieving myself.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, when someone you love has cancer, it’s tough, for everyone. But also, for a variety of reasons.

If someone you love has cancer, there is support available for you:

Family, friends and carers and cancer | Cancer Research UK

Emotional support for family and friends | Macmillan Cancer Support

There is also support available within Mersey Care:
If you are caring for a loved one, contact carers@merseycare.nhs.uk who are able to offer practical advice and support.

Health Hero :: YourSpace Mersey Care

Staff networks :: YourSpace Mersey Care

You may find it helpful to speak to your line manager if you require local support around flexible working or carers leave.

Katie

Health & Wellbeing Facilitator

National Heart Month: Tips to a Healthy Heart

February 2025

Each year, the British Heart Foundation declares February as National Heart Month in the UK and encourages the nation to “Go red for Heart Month”. The purpose of this campaign is to raise awareness of heart and circulatory diseases. It aims to encourage a heart healthy lifestyle, promote education about heart health, and raise funds for research into heart conditions. The below statistics from the BHF represent the impact of heart disease in the UK:

• There are more than 7.6 million people living with a heart or circulatory disease in the UK: over 4 million men and 3.6 million women.
• Coronary heart disease (also known as ischaemic heart disease) is the most diagnosed type of heart disease. It is the most common cause of heart attack and is the single biggest killer of both and men and women worldwide. It's also the single biggest premature killer (before the age of 75) in the UK.
• There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, with a survival rate of less than 1 in 10.

In this blog, learn about what lifestyle adjustments could be made for a healthy heart!

Healthy eating

Eating a healthy diet can help reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Healthy eating isn’t about cutting out or focusing on individual foods or nutrients. It’s thinking about your whole diet and eating a variety of foods in the right amounts to give your body what it needs. It’s about making small, long-term changes and enjoying the food you eat. Here are some simple small ways to start building a healthier diet:

• Base meals on higher fibre starchy carbohydrates (wholewheat pasta, brown rice, wholegrain bread, etc).
• Get that 5-a day of fruit and veg (it isn’t as hard as you may think!) chop a banana to have with breakfast cereal, throw in some chopped veg into sauces, swap usual snacks with fruit and veg (apple, carrots with hummus, etc).
• Eat more fish- salmon, herring, trout, tuna, haddock, mackerel etc.
• Reduce saturated fat and sugar
• Reduce salt intake
• Get active
• Stay hydrated

Further support here:

Eating healthy on a tight budget: 6 top tips - BHF

Healthy eating - reduce your risk of developing heart disease - BHF

Heart Health - British Dietetic Association (BDA)

Be physically active

Regular physical activity is good for our bodies and minds, but it can be difficult to get started. At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity over a week (around 20 or so minutes per day) or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week is recommended. One way to tell if you're working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk but not sing. If you're working at a vigorous level, you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath. Speak to your GP first if you have not exercised for some time, or if you have medical conditions or concerns. Make sure your activity and its intensity are appropriate for your fitness. Here are some ideas to start building more activity into your day:

• Stand rather than sit when you can
• Park a bit further away/get off the bus a few stops early if able
• Take the stairs instead of the lift if able
• Find something you enjoy
• Get family and friends involved
• Track progress

Further support here:

Staying Active - BHF

How to be more active - Better Health - NHS

Site Walking Maps :: YourSpace Mersey Care

Smoking

• Cigarettes contain toxic chemicals that harm your body even after you’ve finished the cigarette.
• Some of the toxic chemicals are:

Carbon Monoxide- poisonous gas. Prevents blood from carrying oxygen around your body properly which forces your heart to work harder than it should.

Tar- stains smokers’ teeth and fingers a yellow-brown colour and is very harmful to health. It can cause cancer, lung disease, and heart disease.

Nicotine- addictive chemical found in regular cigarettes, most e-cigarettes and shisha. It increases heart rate and blood pressure.

• Quitting smoking can greatly improve your health. It’s never too late to benefit from stopping smoking. On average, smokers who quit in their 30s will add 10 years to their life. Even quitting at 60 will add 3 years.

Further support can be found here:

Find your local Stop Smoking Service (LSSS) - Better Health - NHS

Smoke Free National Hotline- 03001231044

Heart Helpline - talk to a cardiac nurse - BHF

Quit smoking - Better Health - NHS

Smoke Free update - May 2023 :: YourSpace Mersey Care

Reduce stress

• Stay positive- laughter has been found to lower levels of stress hormones, reduce inflammation in the arteries, and increase “good” HDL cholesterol.
• Meditation- Practice of inward-focused thought and deep-breathing has been shown to reduce heart disease risk factors. Yoga can also help relax the mind and body.
• Unplug- Take time each day, even if just 10-15 minutes to avoid emails, texts, and tv news.
• Find a way to destress that works for you- taking a warm bath, listening to music, spending time on a hobby. These simple things can give you a much-needed break from stressors in your life.

Further support here:

Stress - BHF

Headspace for NHS

Stress Reduction Workshop :: YourSpace Mersey Care

Mindfulness :: YourSpace Mersey Care

Kind to Your Mind :: YourSpace Mersey Care

Health Hero :: YourSpace Mersey Care

These are just a few ways to ensure we have the healthiest hearts we can, so how about using Heart Month to make a start! If you are interested in learning more about this campaign, further information can be found here: Heart Month 2025 - BHF

Mini Health Checks at Work :: YourSpace Mersey Care - These can be useful in helping to know your numbers and developing agreed goals. There are a few dates in February, this link has further information on location, dates, and times! 

Rachel Unsworth

Health and Wellbeing Facilitator