New mentoring service for cancer patients

THE Bacchus Marsh man behind a support group for cancer patients is taking his desire to help others a step further by setting up a formal mentoring service.

Marcus Whelan, who has been living with a grade three astrocytoma for more than four years, has developed the Mentoring Minds service as an extension of his own experiences in treatment.

“I want to pass on my experience and help other people in their choices,” Mr Whelan said.

It follows his move last year to establish the Bacchus Marsh Cancer Support Yarning Circle, an informal group that gathers occasionally and allows cancer patients to share their stories.

The yarning circle is in recess during the winter months but will resume in September, as the weather improves.

“You really get to connect with everyone, one on one, and everyone gets to spill their beans,” Mr Whelan said of the gatherings.

Mr Whelan, 39, was inspired to launch the yarning circle after attending a men’s retreat through the Peace of Mind Foundation during which a similar activity took place.

He said he soon realised that many people felt they had no one to talk to – and decided to do something about it.

Mr Whelan’s latest idea for an official support service came from discussions with a Torquay-based friend who works with people with disabilities.

The result is Mentoring Minds, through which Mr Whelan will meet with fellow cancer patients for a chat, a cuppa or an activity to help them on their journey.

“In my own experience, people don’t have the money to go and pay someone to sit and talk about what they’ve had, illnesses and stuff they’ve got,” Mr Whelan said. “No way am I a psychologist, but through my journey I’ve found that doing carpool karaoke and things like that on the way to radiation treatments, little things like that were just good fun.

“Being a mentor, you’ll meet people at a coffee shop, sit down, have a chat for an hour – what are your goals, where do you want to be in six months time?” he said.

In his own case, Mr Whelan’s latest MRI scan earlier this month showed no growth.

“In the brain cancer world, that’s the best news you can have,” he said.

“With brain cancer, at the moment there’s no cure, that’s the sad part.

“But there’s no growth, so I can move on to the next six months.”

The yarning circle has its own Facebook page, but for those interested in arranging a catch-up through Mentoring Minds, Mr Whelan can be contacted via email on [email protected] .