📅 Date: Tuesday, 12th May 2026
📍 Location: Brampton Park Golf Club, Huntingdon
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Spring Cancer Support Conference 2026. It was a welcoming and informative day, bringing together people living with or beyond a cancer diagnosis, healthcare professionals, speakers, volunteers, and supporters from across the region.
Throughout the day, attendees heard from expert speakers on a range of topics, including breast cancer support services, hypnotherapy and stress management, genomic testing in cancer care, and prostate cancer awareness. The presentations offered practical information, new perspectives, and opportunities to learn more about the support and resources available both locally and nationally.
At HCCN, we support adults 18+ living with or beyond a cancer diagnosis in Huntingdonshire and events like these are an important opportunity to connect, share experiences and empower people with knowledge that can help them navigate life during and beyond cancer.
If you were unable to attend, or would like to revisit the day, we’ve gathered the key highlights, speaker summaries and available presentation resources below. You can also take a look back at the conference programme shared on the day.
Meet the Speakers & Download Their Presentations
Our speakers shared expert knowledge, practical guidance and valuable insights throughout the day. Explore the session summaries and presentation resources below.
Kerry Smith – Services development coordinator from Breast Cancer Now
Topic: Accessing Support, Information and Wellbeing Services After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Kerry explained her involvement with “engagement” in East Anglia, merging with other charities, money for research and a helpline for everyone and health professionals.
Her passion is for the “Moving Forward Course” which addresses mental health too.
She works collaboratively and signposts access to an HCCN nurse. She has volunteers available for 121 support for patients from people who really know.
Younger women 45 and under are supported.
An access fund is available to help people with transport costs to attend services and courses.
Speakers give live webinars, also interactive for patients and health professionals. You can register on the website and have access to recordings of these.
Melanie Davies
Topic: Clinical hypnotherapist and and stress management consultant.
Melanie gave an impressive presentation and demonstration of how hypnotherapy can – through deep relaxation – help a person to change their thoughts and behaviours.
She explained what hypnotherapy is and how it can help, using a number of case studies, eg phobia of MRI scans, needles, etc. which in turn enabled the person to then receive the vital treatment they needed.
Deep relaxation is an evidence-based practice: a state of focused attention with heightened awareness and increased susceptibility to new thoughts, backed up by proven physical changes to the brain.
Melanie uses her skills to make positive suggestions to change thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Helen Mayer & Janey Hamilton – Programme leads for genomic testing in cancer care
Topic: The role of the Regional Genomic Clinical Practitioner Service.
Helen explained that genes cause “chaos” and that can lead to cancer. Genetics looks at a single factor, Genomics looks at the whole “library”. A difference of only 0.1% in this “library” makes us different from each other.
Somatic variants look at spontaneous errors that occur leading to the tumour itself. Germline variants are inherited and there are over 20 variants that predispose to the development of cancer. This team is the only one of its kind in England and it looks at personalised care and prediction for families.
It enables people to ask their cancer team or GP “what does this mean for me?”.
A cancer predisposition register is being created as a result of this work.
Vicky McMorran
Topic: Skin cancer specialist nurse from Addenbrookes Hospital.
Sadly Vicky was unable to be with us on the day due to a family commitment but her slides are available to look at and she hopes to be with us for the Autumn conference on 16th November 2026.
Suresh Rambaran – Prostate cancer specialist nurse
Topic: Prostate Cancer Awareness and the Importance of Early Diagnosis
Suresh is a volunteer with many cancer charities and has extensive experience in communicating cancer information.
He told us that 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer at some stage of their lives and that this number increases to 1 in 4 for black men. There is a lot of ignorance about this type of cancer and men are quite inhibited about discussing it.
There are 3 types of prostate problem:
Benign prostatic hyperplasia – enlarged but not cancerous, Prostatitis – inflammation and infection of the prostate and Prostate cancer – a malignancy in the gland.
Suresh emphasised that most men with early prostate cancer do not have any symptoms!
Those that do can have any (or all) of the following:
Weak or reduced urine flow, needing to urinate often, especially at night, feeling the bladder is not completely empty, a desperate need to urinate (urgency) and difficulty starting to pass urine (hesitancy).
Less common signs are:
Pain on urination, pain on ejaculating and blood in urine and sperm.
The risk increases with age and is commonest in men over 50. Your risk is 2.5 x higher if your father or brother has had it or if any female relatives have had breast cancer. Having a healthy diet and keeping physically fit may reduce your chances of developing prostate cancer.
PSA (prostate specific antigen) is a protein produced by the prostate gland and checking its level is a very useful screening test to find early cases of the cancer although the test is not 100% specific and its use is controversial for this reason. Overall, it is better to test than not.
📸 Photos from the Day
From informative presentations to conversations over coffee, our May Conference was a wonderful opportunity to learn, connect and share experiences. Alongside our speakers, we were delighted to welcome:
- Breast Cancer Now – providing information, resources and support for those affected by breast cancer
- Jane Minett, Programme Manager for Bowel Cancer Screening at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, who hosted an information stand and spoke with attendees about the importance of bowel cancer screening and the role it can play in early detection.
Take a look below or visit us on Instagram for more highlights from the event.
Stay Connected
Thank you for being part of our May 2026 Cancer Support Conference. We hope the information, insights and conversations shared throughout the day have provided encouragement and support on your journey
At HCCN, we support adults 18+ living with or beyond a cancer diagnosis in Huntingdonshire through a range of services, activities and opportunities to connect with others who understand. From wellbeing support and physical activity programmes to social groups and future events, we’re here to help you live your best life despite cancer.
📖 Explore our past conferences here
💙 or come and say hello on Facebook
Do you have a question or would you like to be the first to hear about upcoming events?
📧 Email us anytime at info@hccnthecharity.org
