Emotional Support Around Cancer & Health
In partnership with The Lewis Foundation
When cancer affects your life, it is not just a physical experience
A cancer diagnosis can change many things, physically, emotionally and relationally.
People often describe feeling overwhelmed, anxious, uncertain or disconnected from the life they knew before. Treatment can be demanding. Relationships may shift. Everyday routines can become harder to manage.
At Ragdoll, we offer a supportive space to help individuals and families navigate the emotional experience of cancer.
Working alongside the kindness and practical comfort provided by The Lewis Foundation, our role is to support emotional wellbeing, connection and resilience during this time.
Who we support
Who this support is for
- Adults living with a cancer diagnosis
- Individuals adjusting after treatment
- Partners and spouses
- Parents and adult children
- Family members and carers
- Children and Young people affected by a loved one’s illness
Support is available at any stage of your journey, diagnosis, treatment, recovery or bereavement.
Supporting loved ones
When someone you love has cancer
Supporting a loved one through cancer can feel overwhelming. Many people feel pressure to stay strong and hold everything together while managing their own fears and emotions.
Having space to reflect on your experience can help you feel more steady and supported. This can strengthen your ability to remain emotionally present and connected with the person you care about.
You do not have to manage this alone.
How we can help
Support is personalised and shaped around what feels most helpful to you.
This may include:
Emotional support
- Managing worry, fear and uncertainty
- Coping with emotional overwhelm, anxiety or low mood
- Processing identity changes and loss
- Navigating relationship or family pressures
- Building coping strategies and resilience
Parent and family support
- Talking to children about illness
- Supporting children’s emotional responses
- Maintaining connection and stability during treatment
- Managing role changes within the family
Trauma-informed therapeutic support
Where experiences feel particularly distressing or overwhelming, we offer specialist therapeutic work.
This may include trauma-informed therapy and EMDR-informed approaches to support processing of medical experiences or ongoing anxiety.
Supporting someone you love through cancer
Seeing a loved one go through cancer can be incredibly hard.
Many people feel they must stay strong, remain positive and hold everything together for the person who is unwell. Over time, this can lead to emotional exhaustion, anxiety, guilt or a sense of feeling alone.
At Ragdoll, we believe your emotional experience matters too.
Having a safe space to talk and reflect can help you feel more grounded and supported. This can strengthen your ability to remain present, compassionate and emotionally available for the person you care about.
You do not have to manage this on your own.
Our approach
We aim to create spaces that feel:
- calm
- containing
- respectful
- flexible
- grounded in real life
Sessions are not one-size-fits-all.
We work collaboratively to understand what you need and move at a pace that feels manageable.
Support can be:
- short-term
- longer-term
- focused around specific stages of illness or recovery
Sessions are available online or in person.
Accessing support
You can access support by:
- referral through The Lewis Foundation
- self-referral
- enquiry as a partner or family member
We are happy to talk through what support might feel helpful.
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