Professional Blog

Helping YOU help your patients and clients to live well with cancer

Hi there!

I’m Dr Mhairi Morris (Mhairi is pronounced “Vari” - I’m from Glasgow originally but currently live in Leicestershire), and I’m a Biochemistry Lecturer at Loughborough University with an active research profile in the field of exercise and breast cancer. I’m also the Founder of Essential Cancer Education - a provider of online training programmes for cancer health professionals from all different backgrounds.

Through one-to-one coaching and my flagship training programme, Clarity on Cancer, I help cancer professionals to engage their patients and clients with healthy lifestyle changes in order to reduce their risk of secondaries and improve patient outcomes. 

What does that mean, exactly? 

Well, I believe that we all KNOW what we need to do, eat, drink, think, believe, etc. to be healthy. You’d have to have been living under a rock for the past 30-40 years to have missed all the advice and guidance to “eat a healthy, balanced diet” and “get more exercise”! Yet so many people simply do not follow this advice, and those living with and beyond cancer are no exception. 

So if we know what to do, why don’t we do it? 

There are lots of different theories out there, but one theory that I believe is at play here is something called “hyperbolic discounting”. That’s the little voice in our heads that says, “Nah...I’ll just do that tomorrow” (but tomorrow never comes, right?). You see, the human psychology is wired to pick the sooner (but smaller) reward over the later (but greater) reward because our prehistoric lizard brains are worried there won’t BE a tomorrow.

And so a never-ending cycle of making and breaking promises to oneself continues.

Well then, how do you break the cycle?

That’s where coaching comes in. YOU are a coach. You might not think it, you might not feel it, but if you play a role in getting a person through their cancer experience and out the other side as healthfully as possible, then you ARE a coach. And it’s through that relationship you have with your patients and clients that you can help them CHOOSE to break the cycle. 

I believe that to provide outstanding patient care you need three things:

1.    Compassion for the patient
2.    Understanding of their disease, treatment and prognosis
3.    The ability to communicate effectively

If you have one or two of these elements, you can be good, possibly even great, but to really EXCEL you need all three.

That’s why I’ve devised a system that will provide you with a simple framework to build strong patient-practitioner relationships, help your patients to proactively engage in their own health, and empower them to make positive, healthy lifestyle choices that last.

Clarity on Cancer was exclusively designed for people who work directly with those living with and beyond cancer: i.e. you’re a cancer professional working in health, wellness and coaching (including, but not limited to: occupational therapists, nutritional therapists, psychotherapists, counsellors, oncology nurses, physiotherapists, osteopaths, survivorship team members, health coaches, and life coaches). 

I’ve created a free guide: The Incredibly Simple 3-Step System to Help Your Patients Live Well With Cancer. You can access the free guide via this link, and here’s a short video with more information:

Our mission:

Essential Cancer Education exists to make a difference in the lives of those living through the cancer experience by assisting cancer health professionals to navigate the minefield of research, real evidence-based medicine, and current recommendations so that they can confidently guide their patients and clients towards a more healthful, healing lifestyle.

I can’t do this alone, and I believe I’m part of something bigger. A movement of sorts. And I would LOVE to have you join me in this movement. 

If you haven’t already, then do sign up to the mailing list. I’ll keep you posted on news and events that I think might interest you. And I promise not to spam you either! Typically, when I’m most active, you can expect to receive one email a week, with some additional surprises now and again when I have something special to share with you that I don’t want you to miss. 
 
© Essential Cancer Education

Social links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/essentialcancereducation
FB group: https://facebook.com/groups/essentialcancereducation/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhairimorris
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhairi-“vari”-morris-phd-essential-cancer-education