Personal consultations
We understand how helpful it can be to speak personally and confidentially to a cancer expert who understands what you are going through and can give you tailored advice and support.
If you are experiencing ongoing physical or emotional concerns related to your cancer we can offer one-to-one consultations with our experienced integrative doctors, counsellors, nutritional therapists, exercise specialists and complementary therapists. These appointments are a chance to share your personal concerns and receive personalised support for your health and wellbeing.
They are particularly suited to those who:
- Have had a recent diagnosis and would like to discuss ways to support their health and wellbeing before and during cancer treatment.
- Are experiencing difficult side effects and symptoms related to their cancer or cancer treatment*
- Are living with or supporting a loved one with an advancing cancer.
- Are experiencing considerable distress or anxiety because of their own or loved one’s cancer diagnosis.
*You can also find out more about our 4-week online Treatment Support Programme here.
Information about the different personal consultations we offer is included below. Most appointments are offered by phone and can be booked with our Client Support Team clientsupport@pennybrohn.org.uk or 0303 300 0118 Please be patient with us, our small team is very busy and will respond to your message as soon as they can.
Our personal consultations are offered free of charge to ensure that they are accessible to anyone with cancer, regardless of their circumstances. However, as a charity, we rely on donations to fund our work and ask that you consider making a contribution towards the cost of your consultation if you can. Thank you.
How we can help
Counselling and coaching
Counselling support is a chance to share your thoughts and feelings with an experienced therapist who will listen without judgement, whether you’re the person with a cancer diagnosis or you are supporting a loved one through their experience.
Cancer can bring lots of changes, both in the short term and longer term, and finding ways of coming to terms with this and the range of different feelings can be a challenge. Counselling can bring new understanding to your situation and your relationships and make things more manageable.
Our qualified and experienced counsellors can provide you with confidential support and advice on coping with your diagnosis, treatment, and life after cancer. We can offer up to six appointments by phone, Zoom or in-person for those living close to Bristol. Please be aware that we currently have a lengthy waiting list for counselling support.
To discuss if counselling might be helpful for you or to join our waiting list please contact our Client Support Team on 0303 300 0118 or email clientsupport@pennybrohn.org.uk.
"I really believe Penny Brohn UK saved me, not just my mental state but my life. And now I am loving life!"
Meet our counsellors
Allon Stokes
COUNSELLING LEAD
BA (Hons), MA, Diploma in Professional Skills (Counselling), BACP
Allon has nearly 20 years’ experience as a counsellor, mental health mentor and workshop facilitator. Previously he was a supervisor for Cruse Bereavement Care. He joined Penny Brohn UK in 2016 and leads a team of experienced counsellors, offering both 1-1 and group sessions. They support clients at all stages of their, (or their loved ones’) cancer journey; from the shock of diagnosis and treatment, through the often-delayed emotional impact of cancer, as well as offering support to those facing a terminal prognosis.
Mike Chatziapostolou
Counsellor
Diploma in Relational Gestalt Psychotherapy, MBACP, MEng, CEng.
Mike is a BACP registered gestalt therapist with a passion for fostering safe and non-judgemental spaces for exploration, increasing wellbeing and promoting self-awareness. Grounded in gestalt principles, he believes in the power of the present moment and the importance of exploring thoughts, feelings, and behaviours within the context of one’s lived experience of cancer. Mike has an interest in ecopsychology, mindfulness and systems thinking.
Nutrition support
A nutritious diet can be an important tool for supporting your health and wellbeing with cancer and may help to improve your energy levels and reduce symptoms and side effects. Our experienced team can offer personalised, evidence-based advice and support to help you put our healthy eating guidelines in to practice and adapt them to your particular needs.
Please note that nutritional therapists are not able to provide advice concerning medical devices such as stomas and feeding tubes, this support should be provided by your oncology team. However, if you are having trouble eating at this time, we have some helpful guidelines developed in collaboration with a team of oncology Dietitians that you may find useful.
To discuss if nutritional therapy might be helpful for you please contact our Client Support Team by email clientsupport@pennybrohn.org.uk or call 0303 3000 118.
"I found the sessions extremely useful and the therapist extremely knowledgeable with lots of useful tips even though I thought I followed a fairly healthy diet anyway, seems you can always improve!"
Meet our nutrition team
Kim Wilcox
Nutrition LEAD
MSc in Nutrition & Behaviour, mBANT, CNHC
Kim joined Penny Brohn UK in 2019. She has a passion for nutrition research and making evidence-based nutrition engaging and accessible for clients, focusing on simple, joyful, positive approaches towards what we eat. Kim specialises in nutrition to support mental and physical wellbeing cohesively and she also works as Integrative Therapist in Nutritional Psychiatry at The Priory Hospital, and lectures in nutrition.
Victoria Kubiak
Nutritional Therapist
NCAHE, Dip ONC, APNT, Dip AT, BANT, BCMA, APNT, BInst AT, KF & CthA
Victoria is a registered nutritional therapist who has worked for Penny Brohn UK for over 20 years and also has a private practice. She has a vast knowledge of the history and health benefits of different foods and a passion for inspiring people to cook simple, nutritious and delicious meals using everyday ingredients.
Exercise Therapy
Being physically active is beneficial for nearly everyone with cancer and can help to improve physical and emotional health and wellbeing before, during and after treatment. Our regular online classes offer a safe, fun and sustainable way to increase your activity and rebuild strength regardless of your fitness levels.
However, if you are recovering from recent surgery or experiencing limitations that mean you need to adapt your approach to exercise, our specialists can offer tailored one-to-one support to meet your individual needs.
To discuss if an appointment with one of our exercise specialists might be helpful for you please contact our Client Support Team by email clientsupport@pennybrohn.org.uk or call 0303 300 0118
"For the first time since starting chemo, I was finally well enough to join an exercise class today. It was so great I just wanted to let you know. I really enjoyed it and found it fun, relaxing, great for stretching and simply amazing. The teacher is incredibly knowledgeable and talented. I plan to join it again every time I can"
Meet our exercise team
Olivia Core
Yoga teacher
Olivia qualified as a physiotherapist in 2009, and has over nine years’ experience as a specialist oncology, haematology and palliative care physiotherapist. In 2019, she become a lymphoedema practitioner and currently works for the Dorothy House Hospice Care Lymphoedema Service, in Bath, and is trained in Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD).
Olivia completed the 200-hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training in 2021, and now teaches yoga to people living with and beyond cancer. Her passion is to promote exercise and wellbeing, and the ethos ‘Yoga for All’.
Doctor support
Our experienced doctor team bring a wealth of experience in integrative cancer care. They do not diagnose or prescribe and cannot offer a second opinion, but they can help you understand more about your diagnosis and treatment options, and share ideas about how you can use lifestyle and complementary approaches to support any side effects and symptoms you may be experiencing.
To discuss if an appointment with one of our integrative doctors might be helpful for you please contact our Client Support Team by email clientsupport@pennybrohn.org.uk or call 0303 3000 118.
"It helped me feel less anxious afterwards and more knowledgeable and empowered about what I should do. There is so much to deal with when you have finished cancer and not much support from standard NHS places. Penny Brohn UK is a god-send!"
Meet our doctors
Dr Catherine Zollman
Integrative doctor
BA Physiol (Oxon), MBBS, MRCP, MRCGP, Fellowship in Integrative Medicine (University of Arizona) Committee member of College of Medicine, BSIO, SIO
Catherine trained to registrar level in Medical Oncology before qualifying as a GP in 1995. She completed a Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in 2010. In addition to her role at Penny Brohn UK, Catherine works part-time as an NHS GP and is an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at University of Bristol. She was a GP Clinical Cancer Lead for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG for 5 years.
Dr Zena Rajathurai
Integrative doctor
BM BS, BMed Sci (hons), MRCP, MSc, Cert Ed
Zena joined the medical team at Penny Brohn UK in 2022, having worked as a Palliative Medicine Consultant in Bristol, and then a full-time mum. The career break enabled Zena to experience the need for ‘more than medicine’ through the integrative approach to healthcare and healing first hand. Zena is on the GMC Specialist Register and brings her experience and training to complement the offering at PBUK to people living well with cancer through the Whole Life approach.
Dr Duncan Still
Integrative doctor
BMBS, MRCGP
Duncan is a GP and advocate of lifestyle medicine who has worked at Penny Brohn UK for over 6 years. He has particular interests in the role of nature-based therapy, breathwork, nutrition (especially the microbiome!), mind-body practices such as mindfulness and meditation and bodywork. He is an enthusiastic forager and wild swimmer!
Duncan also works as the Education Lead for NCIM’s Diploma in Integrative Healthcare and teaches medical students at the University of Bristol.
Dr Helen Thomas
Integrative doctor
Dr Helen Thomas has worked as one of the Penny Brohn UK Integrative Doctor Team for over 7 years & has worked as an NHS GP for over 25 years in London & Bristol. Throughout her career, she has had a curiosity that has driven her to explore & undertake learning in the wider areas of wellness & wellbeing alongside the western allopathic medicine model. She is a longstanding, passionate advocate of applying a holistic integrative approach to the health and wellbeing of her patients by combining healthy lifestyle advice & social prescribing in tandem with the best of conventional, & complementary medicine approaches when appropriate.
Scar therapy
Scar therapy is a gentle complementary approach that can support the healthy recovery of scars after surgery or radiotherapy. The treatment can improve the appearance of new or old scars and enhance movement by working on the structure of the underlying tissue.
Scar therapy may also reduce pain and sensitivity and help to support any emotional impacts the scar may have been having.
Our Scar Therapy appointments are offered thanks to the generous support of Walk the Walk. Eligibility criteria apply.
To find out more and discuss if Scar Therapy might be helpful for you please contact our Client Support Team by emailing clientsupport@pennybrohn.org.uk or calling 0303 3000 118. Please note that the Scar Therapy one-to-one appointments are only available at our wellbeing centre in Pill, near Bristol.
We also offer online group support with scars which you can access.
"So fantastic to discover new options that are available for managing scars. Wonderful speakers with Kate and Janey - thanks so much!"
Meet our practitioner
Kate Oldham
Cancer rehabilitation therapist
Kate works closely with you to design a progressive treatment and self-management programme, that not only suits your lifestyle but improves your quality of life.
Kate specialises in Lymphoedema management, ScarWork and Reflexology, but with ten years of training she is able to provide a wealth of support.
