The Yes to Life Mission

Who we are

Yes to Life empowers people with cancer to make informed decisions about their cancer care options.

For more than a decade, we have provided evidence-based information to those in need.  We are proud to have helped more than a 1,000 people and will continue doing everything we can to support even more. Our singular focus on supporting people with cancer with objective, impartial information means we do not sell drugs, treatments or therapies.

What we do

We provide information to guide people with cancer through the confusing options for care and lifestyle choices. Our aim is to help them make informed decisions. We simplify the complex and facilitate access to expert knowledge.

We quickly provide simple, straightforward information about what people with cancer can do right now to start making a positive difference to their wellbeing.

How we do it

We offer individual support through our helpline and website, and information through blogs and publications, radio broadcasts, workshops and conferences.

We also supply contacts to a range of specialist practitioners and organisations.

Our helpline is supported by highly trained volunteers, all whom have personal experience of cancer or another chronic condition, or have supported a close relative or friend.  Our volunteers often provide a lifeline to those whose voices have not been heard, or who are otherwise isolated.

A quick response has always been an essential feature of our service, and this is underpinned by a robust administrative system. The positive effect of a reliable and timely response on someone's frame of mind is invaluable, especially when so much of their experience can be stressful, spent in limbo and often waiting endlessly for the next appointment or result.

Lastly, we provide financial support in the form of grants for therapies, consultations, nutritional therapy and equipment, all of which help people to manage their condition.

Our funding comes from public donations, including through fund-raising events, from bequests and a small number of foundations.

Why we were founded

Yes to Life was founded following the death from cancer of Bryony Daly at the age of just 23. Determined to give his daughter a positive legacy and to do something about the enormous gaps in healthcare they experienced, Bryony’s father Robin set up Yes to Life in 2005.

Our focus on managing cancer as a chronic disease sets us apart from other cancer charities which centre on research and finding a cancer cure.

We are small, but our aim is to have a big impact.

Our philosophy

With our holistic approach, Yes to Life believes in the importance of the mental, emotional and spiritual state of everyone with cancer. Along with physical needs, we feel these should be considered as central to any treatment programme.

Rooted in more than a decade of experience of working with people with cancer, we know it is vital that everyone seeking options should be empowered to make their own health decisions.

We also believe in the benefits of a positive approach. Of course a cancer diagnosis is frightening, but instead of talking about ‘victims’ and ‘battling with disease’, we feel that forward-looking optimism is crucial. We have seen the hope that grows out of gaining access to information, from being empowered to explore your individual needs and make your own choices to manage your condition, as you see fit.

Our role is to help people to decide what they want to do, by providing information and referring them to qualified experts, and then to support them in their chosen path.

To find out more about what we do, please visit our website(http://yestolife.org.uk) or follow us on:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yestolifecharity/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/yestolife

This blog aims to share any information the Yes to Life team discovers along the way that we think would be beneficial for our supporters to read in relation to cancer prevention and cancer recovery. Thanks to some excellent input from supporters, our blog posts will include tips on diet and lifestyle, information on mindfulness and some amazing personal stories that people have shared with us.