On February 19th 2022, we celebrate 3 years since we launched Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care eLearning oncology courses for Massage, Reflexology and Reiki practitioners.

As with any anniversary it allows time for reflection and review.

I reflect on how much the course has evolved, since going live in 2019 as the worlds first eLearning offering for Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care.

I look back on the challenges I faced in walking this unusual path. This may not be unusual for others, but as a practising therapist and face to face therapy lecturer it was never a path I envisaged walking.

So, what led me to do this? Was it my fate and destiny to create a new learning pathway?

I have come to believe and trust this was fate and to understand it is part of my life purpose.

The reason why was due to many therapists approaching me either in face-to-face workshops, or via email to ask if I could deliver my training in cancer care virtually. Their reasons for wanting this varied, some lived rurally, and courses were not held local to them. To attend meant valuable time away from their families and businesses as well as additional expense in travel and accommodation. Others had demanding home lives working and caring for family.

What they all had in common was the heart felt desire to help their clients going through a cancer diagnosis, as well as helping supporting their carers. To do this, they needed to receive training in good communication, best practices, guidelines, awareness of side effects from chemotherapy and radiotherapy, contraindications and adapting therapy treatments and positioning for patients. Prior to the eLearning I travelled all over the UK and Australia to deliver all of the above in a full one-day workshop. The workshop was always full and I had the pleasure of meeting many hundreds of therapists during those years.

Initially I felt an eLearning offering was not possible as I was concerned the sensitivity and awareness of how to adapt our approach would not be conveyed through an online program. Also, no one else had created such a course which meant there was no tried and tested way of doing this and although I had never been on an eLearning course, people I spoke with said they often found them dry and at times boring.

Nevertheless, no matter how often I tried to let the idea go, my mind was already considering how it could be created; how to use teaching methods to reach all learning styles, how to convey the emotional impact, how to create material for each therapy subject, how to assess and demonstrate the practical side of pressure during treatments.

There was no grand plan on how to make this into an eLearning program, in fact there was no business plan either (yes, I can imagine the many business gurus out there rolling their eyes right now). All I knew was that I was being told this was something I was being guided to do.

Serendipity stepped in when on a night out in a local pub I happened to see Catherine Colling from Reflection Media, who had created my website for me. Catherine and I had talked previously about my work in cancer care and she shared  how her sister Vicki had been going through treatments for breast cancer. Catherine like many others who are closely affected by cancer, had in turn kindly offered her services free of charge to update websites for cancer charities and managed their social media. This was her way of helping others and giving back.

I told her what I was thinking about and asked if this was something she could do. Catherine was very honest and said ‘well, I have never created an eLearning course before, but I am willing to give it a crack’.  With that, in 2016 we launched ourselves on this path and oh boy, was it a steep learning curve.

Catherine and I worked very closely together creating content for interactive slides and Q&A’s,  we recorded voiceovers for each slide, audio recordings of two wonderful people who were going through their cancer journey, case studies and worksheet booklets for therapists to record their findings to create a portfolio for future reference.

We had a few wrong turns, hit a few roadblocks along the way and often sat with our heads in our hands wondering how to overcome some of the hurdles. However, this was something we both felt was so important to create, we felt strongly this was a much-needed learning resource, which would benefit many people around the world.

We were excited discussing each step, finding the right people to shoot videos for the practicals and no matter how frustrating it was we knew this had to be completed, there was no external pressure, the desire to create this came from within.

It was exhausting too, I was delivering treatments in two clinics, teaching weekend workshops at least twice a month in hospices, cancer centres and therapy schools. I was working many hours to cover the cost of creating the course. I knew the hand of God was guiding me when each time I needed another sum of money for the next stage, I would receive a call from a Hospice or cancer centre asking if I would travel and deliver the training in house for them. It nearly always was the exact amount required.

The whole creation took nearly 3 years to complete. The courses were accredited by National Therapy Associations, recognised by UK therapy insurance companies and we were ready to go. As Catherine and I pressed the button to launch the course on Tuesday 19th February 2019, there was such a deep satisfaction. We had created something for which the ripple effect from educating therapists would support so many patients and clients in their cancer journey around the world.

We have never stood still and have created further learning pathways for clinical practice with hospices and cancer centres in the UK.

The courses have now been completed by therapists in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Guernsey, Australia, Canada, US, Dubai and France.

During the past two years Catherine and I have both experienced personal family loss through cancer. This has given us even stronger resolve to support and enable therapists in their learning and pathway in delivering the many relaxing benefits Butterfly Touch treatments provide.

I have many people to be grateful to for their support, belief and guidance.

My family and wonderful husband John have been incredible in supporting and believing in me. The two courageous people who shared their cancer experiences to help others (I will keep their names anonymous). Special thanks to Sue Doyle, Educator and Tutor for all her time, expertise and feedback on the course. Many thanks to Alison Harding RN for her appraisal and guidance in health and safety and infection control. My gorgeous friend Andrea Fayers for being an ever patient model in the videos. Of course, my thanks and gratitude extend to Catherine who is still actively involved in the courses as our technical support and so much more.

I am incredibly grateful to Dr Peter Mackereth for his time assessing the course, feedback and support.

Lastly, but not least I give my heart and thanks to those who allowed me to be part of their cancer path. For putting your trust and faith in me to deliver gentle supportive treatments when you were at your most vulnerable.