Useful Information
It has been noted that a lot of members are not fully reading the renewals forms and this causing a lot of extra work for the Membership Secretary. On this point as well, could you please address correspondence to the Secretary otherwise in means that Joe has to resend the letter to Dianne causing even more work. Believe me Joe has a lot of work to do as well as running a busy clinic. Please remember all the committee members are volunteers and I would ask that you please respect that and not cause extra work by not filling in forms correctly. Thanks. Mac (Chairman).
On 21st July, on behalf of NAMMT, I attended the Parliamentary Launch of the Mole and Skin Cancer Guidelines for Health and Beauty Professionals which had been developed by the Melanoma Taskforce and the British Association of Dermatologists at Portcullis House, Westminster, London.
Parliamentary Launch of the Mole and Skin Check Guidelines for Health and Beauty Professionals.
We started with a welcome from Sian Jones M.P. who hosted the Launch.
Gemma Merna who you may know is appearing in Hollyoak’s, gave us a personal experience of the use of sun beds and skin melanomas. After Gemma, Ray Vyse who is a massage therapist gave his account of referring a client to the G.P. which resulted in her having a malignant melanoma successfully removed.
Sian James gave a brief account of her struggle to get sun bed manufactures to issue warning on their products.
Following Sian, Professor Chris Bunker President – Elect of the British Association of Dermatologists told of their concerns regarding skin exposure to the sun and the use of sun beds. Also his struggle to get more Dermatologists in the UK we currently have 500 the USA has 15000.
Sian then read a Keynote speech from Anne Milton MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health. We finally had the obligatory photo shoot, which I will put on the web site when I get them.
The importance of these guidelines is to provide simple information about signs of skin cancer on people, therapists like us who come into contact with the general public and have possibly the single position of being able to view our patient skin whilst working on them. I have been looking at patient’s skin for a number of years and have been able to refer them to their G.P. I see this as a duty of care that comes with the job. To quote Sian James MP and Chair of the Melanoma Taskforce The launch of this publication is important and timely. With more than 100,000 new cases diagnose each year; Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK. Cases have quadrupled in the last 30 years. If we can get Massage and beauty therapist to just notice any skin blemishes on their clients or patients we could have a massive tool in the fight against Melanomas in this country and who knows how many live we could possible save. We are in the unique position in perhaps being the only one who sees someone’s skin to this degree. Even spouses and partners will not necessarily notice anything till it could be too late. Even if they know what to look for.
The signs to notice are;A.B.C.D.E.
- Asymmetry - the shape of a melanoma is often uneven and asymmetrical, unlike a mole which is usually round and even.
- Border - the border or edges of a melanoma are often ragged, notched or blurred. A mole has a smooth well-defined edge.
- Colour - the colour (pigmentation) of a melanoma is often not uniform. So there may be 2-3 shades of brown or black. A mole usually has one uniform colour.
- Diameter - the size of a melanoma is usually larger than 6 mm and it continues to grow. However, they can sometimes be smaller than this.
- Evolving - any change in size, shape, colour, elevation or any new symptom such as bleeding, itching or crusting may be due to a melanoma.
I would like to ask all members to take this on board as a duty of care. There is no need to worry the patient just say, I have noticed this blemish and it might be worth just getting your GP to check it.
I have and on a few occasions they have come back to say “thank you, it could have saved my life”!
Tiny Tim’s Children’s Centre
Getting the charity up and running was not an easy task, a number of difficulties and unexpected problems were encountered requiring patient problem solving. After much negotiation with the Charity Commission and some futuristic fundraising we established Tiny Tim’s Children’s Centre, an independent Registered Charity, in January 2003. As part of the deal we were able to give the LCSP £100,000 being the amount they originally paid for the building.
The charity has continuously provided therapy, free of charge, to children with disabilities and special needs. Therapy that is either not available to them on the NHS or affordable to their families in the private sector. There has been a steady increase in demand; the charity gives over 3,000 treatments and 2,000 therapeutic play sessions a year for all age children ranging from birth to 18. The Tiny Tim’s Children’s Centre is now very well established and achieving Stan’s vision. Occasionally I wish that Stan could still be around to see the work he started.
Many of the children have a condition which has been diagnosed by a Paediatrician, and they are provided with treatment available to their NHS team. Those who attend Tiny Tim’s are offered regular complementary therapies. These include remedial massage, neuromuscular massage, exercise and therapeutic play, Bowen, Reflexology, Bio-cranial touch therapy and Physiotherapy. Parents are encouraged to discuss the complementary therapies with their Doctor or Consultant, with a view to ascertaining their opinion. Whilst Tiny Tim’s are not in a position to cure the incurable, our aim is to treat some of the secondary conditions with a view to improving the quality of life for children with disabilities and special needs. For many of the children the therapy provided is complementary and ongoing, particularly where the patient has a long term or incurable condition.
In many of the children receiving therapy, both parents and therapists have observed beneficial changes. Examples include: improved mobility and posture, improved sleep and relaxation, lowering of tension, help with respiratory and circulation problems, reduced constipation, heightening of touch and space awareness, stimulation of neuromuscular activity and related muscle tone, improved sense of well-being. In some cases there are improvements in concentration and social behaviour.
Primary conditions have included:
Idiopathic Juvenile Arthritis, Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Hydrocephalus, Autism and the autistic spectrum related disorders, Dyspraxia, Asthma, Epilepsy, soft tissue abnormality, skeletal deformity, Downs and chromosomal abnormalities.
The charity is also involved in providing help for the rehabilitation of long term accident victims and some palliative therapy for children who are terminally ill.
Secondary conditions have included:
Sleeping problems: stress related conditions, constipation, joint stiffness, poor muscle tone, lymphatic and circulation problems, developmental delay and other physical and psychosocial problems.
The charity now has a full time Centre Manager to run the day to day business and proactive fundraising to maintain the ongoing level of service. Profit from the soft play area and children’s party service goes to the charities core running costs. This means that donations made to the charity can be used directly for the treatment of children.
I sincerely hope that the charity will continue to provide the highly valued service for children with disabilities and special needs for as long as the need exists.
Any therapists interested in visiting the Tiny Tim’s should make an appointment by telephoning 02476 228 254
With my best wishes
Alan Inger