Chai Cancer Care announces 40 per cent increase in demand for services - The Jewish Chronicle

The Jewish community’s leading charity supporting those affected by cancer has reported a nearly 40 per cent increase in the demand for its services in the past five years.

Chai Cancer Care, which supports around 4,300 cancer patients and their family members annually, has provided 22,238 appointments in the past year, up 38.4 per cent from 16,066 in 2019 to 2020.

Appointments for men have risen 70 per cent since 2020, from 4,793 to 8,128, while appointments for women have risen 23 per cent, from 11,273 to 13,894.

Nearly 40 per cent of appointments are booked by clients under 50, be they cancer patients or family members.

In the meantime, children and teenagers receive counselling at 27 schools across the UK and can access art and play therapy.

Chai Cancer Care chair Louise Hager (Photo: Chai Cancer Care)[Missing Credit]

Chai Cancer Care chair Louise Hager said: “Demand for our services has risen by more than 38 per cent over five years, and, as people thankfully live longer following a diagnosis, they need support for longer too. It is essential to ensure that no one waits for the care they urgently require. For many years, the focus was almost solely on the patient, but today, 50 per cent of the people we support are their loved ones, including children, partners and parents.”

Hager’s mother, Frances Winegarten, was the co-founder of Chai following her own diagnosis, and Hager said that “as her daughter, I would have appreciated a place to turn to that provides multilayered support at every stage, so I could have better coped and helped my mother through her diagnosis. We are part of an incredible community that has stood side-by-side with us, raising the funds and awareness that make our work possible.”

The increased demand for its services, which are provided free of charge, means that the charity’s annual budget has gone up 5 per cent from £3.9m last year to £4.1m.

On Sunday and Monday, Chai will be running a matched fundraising campaign, “For All To C”, which will see communities across the country mobilising in unprecedented numbers to raise both awareness and essential funds.

Eighteen primary schools are taking part in Mad Hair Day on Friday and Street Lane Bakery, a Leeds kosher bakery and pizzeria, will be baking a special purple doughnut, with a nod to Chanukah approaching.

Chai 2024 whiskey-tasting fundraiser (Photo: Chai Cancer Care)[Missing Credit]

Chai will be distributing L’Chaim kiddush glasses across UK shuls and whisky clubs, and, new for this year, kosher restaurants are displaying QR codes to encourage donations and galvanise community support.

Money raised will go towards the 70 services that Chai provides to give therapeutic and practical support. These are delivered across 11 centres nationwide, in addition to a home support service.

This year, Chai has expanded these to include a cooking club for loved ones of those diagnosed with cancer or who have passed away, a new sleep clinic, more bereavement support and groups for those affected by BRCA. In addition, there is a new children’s therapy summer workshop.

One of Chai’s clients, Stacie Levison, whose husband, Warren, passed away after a five-year battle with cancer of the head and neck, said: "It's hard to explain how incredible Warren was. He was brave, he never complained, and he went through an impossibly difficult journey of trying to fight cancer. The suffering was long and very intense - all the emotion is coming up now.”

She said that Chai had been “a lifesaver” while she attended its group therapy sessions. “I have found it invaluable and really helpful…having somewhere to let out the emotions and be with like-minded people and not feel judged. It's everything really in those times, it really is."

Stacie and Warren Levison (Photo: courtesy)[Missing Credit]

Harlie said her mum had suggested that she and her brother, Jake, went along to a bereavement group for children who had lost a parent to cancer. “I spoke a lot, even in the first group, and I cried - it was so helpful for such an awful situation that everyone in that room had been in. When we come in, it feels like just getting a massive hug. Just being in the room became such a comforting space."

Israeli-born doctor and grandfather Amir Lass turned to Chai for counselling with a Hebrew-speaking therapist. “We did it for nearly a year, weekly sessions, and we talked in Hebrew - I felt very comfortable with her. I would talk in a safe space, where you can say whatever you want and are not judged.”

Fundraising events will be taking place from London to Manchester and Leeds, with youth movements, student groups and the Chai’s Young Professional Committee hosting challah bakes, a film night, charity football matches and a Ministry of Sound event.

Challah bake for Chai Cancer Care (Photo: Chai Cancer Care)[Missing Credit]

Hager added: “The For All to ‘C’ campaign is all about showing people the many ways in which we care, and the true partnership with the community. We hope no one will ever need our services, but for those who do, it is essential that Chai is here and ready to respond.”

To support the community’s campaign for cancer care, click here or go to charityextra.com/chai

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Chai Cancer Care