Meet Faaria

Faaria is from the North of England and is mum to three grown-up children. She has a love of cars, collectibles, and cats! Faaria fits being a member of our insights panel alongside being her father’s main carer and running a business she’s passionate about with her husband. Faaria was diagnosed with Indolent Follicular Lymphoma in 2010. With the support of her family, she went through chemotherapies and a stem cell harvest and chose to get involved with our work whilst having a period of relatively good health, although has bouts of chronic fatigue.

Part of my cancer journey involved being a member of a support group. A Cancer Research UK representative attended the group and regularly updated us on the latest research and work the charity had done. Through this, I was fortunate enough to visit Cancer Research UK’s research facility in Leeds. Seeing the staff at work and their commitment inspired me to want to make my contribution by way of thanks for all the research funded by Cancer Research UK.

Being a member has been easy and felt natural. The best part of being on the panel is bonding with other members who have been affected by cancer.  Quite quickly it felt like meeting with friends and there’s a mutual understanding and respect for each other.

The Patient Involvement team are friendly and approachable. They encourage you to stay in communication so I feel I can contact them any time with questions or concerns I may have. We’re sent pre-reads with plenty of time, so I never feel rushed or under pressure. I’ve built up a connection and they make me feel valued, as do the teams that come to present to seek our views and opinions at panel meetings.  They pitch presentations at a level that is easy to understand. I feel confident to contribute and feel listened to when I do.

Being online has made it easier for me to attend. Chronic fatigue can be disabling at times so being at home allowed me to be a valuable member of the team despite my ill health. I feel this applies to those undergoing treatment or with caring responsibilities.

As a member of a minority community, I know that sometimes we’re not heard. It’s important to speak on behalf of those that are not able to do for themselves, for whatever reason. Cancer research, treatments, and support needs to be there for everyone, and needs to reflect the society we live in.

The best part of being on the panel is being able to give back. In my opinion there is nothing more valuable than the giving of a person’s time. Seeing the difference panel members make to the development of projects shows the real worth and the value of giving that time. The more people affected by cancer that get involved with Cancer Research UK the closer the work will reflect and improve the lives of those affected in real terms.