Jennifer Young has created a free Cancer Awareness Qualification to give therapists and health practitioners a strong foundation on which they can support clients with or recovering from cancer.

The impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment has begun to surface. Figures estimate that over two million people in the UK are waiting for screening, tests and treatments since lockdown began.

Through a combination of fewer tests, fewer people seeking medical attention for symptoms, and a fall in the number of surgeries being carried out to treat cancers, cancer treatment has been badly impacted by the global health crisis, with the long-term effects yet to be fully understood. 

Anticipating the rising need for cancer care support in the coming months, as well as the increasing pressure placed on the wellbeing industry, which has been devastated by the economic impact of Covid-19, Jennifer Young has created a free Cancer Awareness Qualification to give therapists and health practitioners a strong foundation on which they can support clients with or recovering from cancer.

The author of 16 accredited oncology touch therapy qualifications, available across both NHS, private hospitals, hospices and charities as well as spas across the UK and around the world, Young’s Cancer Awareness Qualification forms the basis of her more advanced therapist training.

The accredited and certified introductory qualification helps therapists from the spa, salon, beauty, holistic, wellness and aesthetics industries to welcome those affected by cancer by learning more about its biology, the science of treatments, and the biological drivers of resulting side-effects, empowering therapists to treat clients appropriately and with confidence when they visit.

Jennifer Young said: “The wellbeing industry is having an incredibly hard time at the moment and in many cases can’t afford to spend money on extra training for members of their team, just at a time when we are going to see more people coming through the system in need of appropriate care and support because of the strain on cancer services. As things stand, therapists cannot provide touch treatments to clients with or recovering from cancer unless the client brings a doctor’s note or they have specialist oncology training. I have always felt that the doctor’s note approach puts unreasonable pressure on therapists to provide a service that they don’t feel confident in their ability to deliver safely. By going through this training, therapists get a foundation understanding in the knowledge of how cancer can affect the body, the questions to ask and how to treat in a way that will add the most benefit to the client.”