Neil’s Story

Cancer Support New Zealand is now the home of Look Good Feel Better

Going through cancer can feel isolating, as if the world you knew has gone and you have to navigate a new normal of treatments and physical changes. It was particularly challenging for Pauline Dickson, who had recently moved with her husband Neil to the South Island from Melbourne, when she was diagnosed.

After attending one of Look Good Feel Better’s signature skincare and makeup classes, Pauline looked to see what other free services the charity offered, and discovered online sessions on managing hair-loss and mindfulness. And she and Neil soon became regulars at the weekly online chair yoga sessions.

“It’s just a gorgeous thing seeing those familiar faces each week. I just enjoy that connection,” the Motueka woman says. “It also puts a wee bit of a schedule in that’s not about checking on your progress. And it’s a very non-judgmental space.”

It soon became a safe space for Neil too.

“Cancer is a couple’s disease, you are impacted emotionally, physically in many ways. And that’s something that gets lost,” he confides.

“I don’t know of anything which is really directed at a carer. Rightly so, it’s directed at the person who has undergone the treatment. The carer is the person who is to the side of that. Sometimes it’s possible to feel quite excluded.

“As a carer, Look Good Feel Better has helped me to connect with my wife in a special and unique way.”

Now the couple frequently take part in sessions together, including chair yoga, mindfulness and breathing techniques, and look forward to seeing other regular attendees.

“It’s an appointment but it doesn’t mean going to a clinic, going to a hospital, going to a doctor. It is an appointment for fun,” Neil says.

“It’s a very strong reminder I’m not alone. She’s not alone. We’re all in this together. It’s that time not to think about all the other things, it’s a me time but it’s also an us time.

“Look Good Feel Better is diagnostic agnostic. The Look Good Feel Better programme has given me focus and connections to people who I didn’t even know were around, and we’re going down a route that they never chose either.”