Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW)

Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW) Make a donation

Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW)

Measure Yourself Concerns and Wellbeing (MYCaW) is an individualised self-evaluation questionnaire for evaluating changes in the level of Visitor concerns and wellbeing associated with cancer diagnosis and treatment.

A recent study, funded by GlaxoSmithKline, which included Visitors from Breast Cancer Haven alongside two other Cancer Support Centres, found that the most common concerns held by Visitors were psychological and emotional (Seers et al 2009). Individual concerns were found to significantly improve over time and the most common responses to the question 'what has been the most important aspect for you?' concerning attendance at the centres were 'receiving complementary therapies on an individual or group basis'; 'support and understanding received from therapists' and 'time spent with other patients at the centres'. The methods used for qualitative analysis of data obtained in the MYCaW questionnaire have also been published (Polley et al 2007).

Through a programme of audit we continue to review the ongoing needs of our Visitors and assess their wellbeing using the MYCaW. The findings presented in the latest MYCaW report covering the period from April 2007 to September 2009 confirm the above results and show that 91% of Visitors described their concerns as “gone”, “much better” or “a little better” after receiving complementary therapies. Overall the therapies used most frequently by Visitors to address their concerns were acupuncture, nutritional advice and massage/aromatherapy