Chronic Cancer Collective

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Chronic Cancer Collective We’re a group of women who live with and believe daily acts of creativity makes life that little bit better.

20/10/2026

The working title for Mand’s art work is “circles, definitely not spiralling”.

Most cancer people (and their family) experience moments of worry, and sometimes our thoughts can spiral. These worries can take any shape or form.

One of the most worthwhile tasks in this cancer life is trying to stay in the ‘here and now’. It helps stop spiralling because worry doesn’t make any difference to the ultimate outcome.

Mand is a good role model for us all. When worry rears its ugly head, get your scissors out folks, and cut out some circles. It won’t make everything okay, but it may give you a moment’s peace.

Kath is exhibiting her crafting at visitor centre on Chesterfield Canal this month (October 2026). It is a chance for ...
18/10/2026

Kath is exhibiting her crafting at visitor centre on Chesterfield Canal this month (October 2026).

It is a chance for you to see the uniqueness of . Most of us are still bamboozled by the process (must try harder 😂).

Kath creates her images in between hospital appointments and generally trying to live well with

Follow Kath’s creative work on Blue Fern Creative

Living with means we have to pace ourselves. That includes not overdoing it when setting up our Green House Gallery. S...
16/10/2026

Living with means we have to pace ourselves.

That includes not overdoing it when setting up our Green House Gallery. Small steps are needed, and a brew is an essential part of the process.

Michelle and Heidi worked out that the gallery signage is just perfect (note the 70s inspired frame ✌️).

That’s about enough for one day’s work but it fits with our adage that one creative endeavour a day makes life much more enjoyable.

To see the pictures from the this, you’ll have to go to instagram. If you don’t already follow us on there, now’s your chance 😉

14/10/2026

Oh that gurgling, queasy, post chemo feeling,
as the steroids have worn off,
and the body is trying to heal itself.

Irony is that a lot of the medication aimed at reducing chemo side effects carry their own side effects (including nausea 🤢🙄).

Here’s Heidi’s sculpture of the ‘ol chemo belly’ from our Collective’s exhibition earlier this year.

We’re sharing it because Heidi is in the throes of the chemo-hump-week trying to recover from the last dose.

10/10/2026

Heidi is on post chemo steroids 🤪 and got started on our latest project… the Greenhouse Gallery. It will exhibit past and new art and craft by the Collective.

We share our creative endeavours to show how we try to live well with .

Creative acts are pockets of rebellion against the side effects of , and let’s face it, we just love what we do.

Viewings will mostly be on social media or in person ‘by appointment only’ (😆).

21/09/2026

Once a month we return to where the Chronic Cancer Collective started: our secondary breast cancer support group.

The support group is bigger than the Chronic Cancer Collective and our friends join us occasionally in crafty pursuits, like today. They’re good sports.

We produced lanterns which will be included in a project we have in the pipeline. Watch this space!

Thanks to and .bennett.artist for guiding us through the process ❤️

Heidi is trying somat different, and that is thinking ahead, doing a little sketch (as opposed to impulsively putting pe...
20/09/2026

Heidi is trying somat different, and that is thinking ahead, doing a little sketch (as opposed to impulsively putting pen to paper).

All of this ‘personality change’ (😆) is in preparation for an art project at our monthly support group tomorrow (Macmillan Information and Support Centre - Chesterfield Royal Hospital). We’ll be expertly supported by Lise Bennett Artist.

Theme is nature… chemo cells are part of nature, right? Albeit the lesser pretty part.

19/09/2026

Mand has a lot of stuff going on in her nuggin, and she has a lot going on in physical world too.

During 2026, Mand has kept a journal of each day. She uses words, she illustrates, and she experiments with colours to tie her thoughts, feelings, and emotions together.

Mand shows us how to live with realistic and not naive hope. And if you’re not careful, she’ll be waxing lyrical about one of her entries she’s particularly pleased with. Not much of a ‘closed book’, is our Mand 😆❤️

leaves its mark on us all but in different ways. One of Jackie’s tumours presses on her nerves affecting her mobility ...
09/09/2026

leaves its mark on us all but in different ways. One of Jackie’s tumours presses on her nerves affecting her mobility in her left arm.

Jackie is a ‘leftie’ (apparently a lot of arty people are 🙌) so she has had to learn to use her right arm instead.

Jackie was encouraged to join art sessions with a few other Chronic Cancer Collective members (at ) and got involved in art forms she could do with her non-dominant arm.

Jackie loves nature and her art reflects that. We love Jackie and her indomitable spirit. She shows us how to keep living despite the usual

If art and crafting is about the process and NOT about the outcome, where do you stand on the cleaning up part of it all...
31/08/2026

If art and crafting is about the process and NOT about the outcome, where do you stand on the cleaning up part of it all?

The Chronic Cancer Collective were asked the same question. Surprisingly, no one used the excuse of or as the reason for getting someone else to do it.

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