Pages: 46 - 50
As part of the ‘Whatever It Takes — Cancer Care for Everyone’ programme (Wessex Cancer Alliance [WCA], 2023), the ‘What I would like to say...’ project involved two disabled researchers carrying out creative and engaging workshops and interviews with 45 disabled and neurodivergent people, with the support of Bournemouth University’s
Public Involvement in Education and Research [PIER] team. These individuals were from various community groups in the Wessex region, including Autism Hampshire’s Fareham Serendipity group; the Dorset Blind Association [DBA]; the Multiple Sclerosis [MS] Centre
Dorset; the Royal National Institute of Blind People [RNIB]; and the Bournemouth and Poole Lymphoedema and Lipoedema Support group. This article reflects on the deep and rich insights shared by attendees, which were facilitated by the PIER community researcher model, and which have already begun to impact practice. It is hoped that the outcomes of this project will contribute to improving disabled people’s experiences of accessing cancer services.