BRiC Centre - Building Resilience in Breast Cancer Centre

01/08/2026

If you are interested in whole-person cancer care then this course is for you!

🟡 Applications are now open for the next NCIO GRiT (Growth and Resilience in Trauma) Centre postgraduate CPD programme: Foundations of Integrative Psycho-Oncology and Trauma Competent Care.

🟡 Designed for healthcare professionals, practitioners and researchers working with people affected by cancer, this unique 10-week programme combines the latest evidence with practical, multidisciplinary approaches to supporting psychological wellbeing, resilience and whole-person cancer care.

🔸 Course Structure:

10 weeks | September – November 2026
3 hours per week of taught online content
Pre-recorded lectures available on the LMS (Learning Management System) with weekly live drop-in Q&A sessions (Wednesday evenings, 7– 8pm)
3 optional on-site training days (Saturdays near Reading, Berkshire – dates to be confirmed)
20 places available

🔸 Topics include:

Mental health in cancer
Psychological therapies (CBT, ACT, CFT, EMDR)
Mind-body medicine, mindfulness, yoga and hypnosis
Specialist interventions (e.g., Cognitive Training, HRV training)
Lifestyle medicine, nutrition and complementary therapies
Creative therapies and neurodiversity in cancer care
Case studies and lived experience
Communication, survivorship, advanced disease and family support
Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer support

🟡 The course is suitable for doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, patient navigators, integrative medicine practitioners and healthcare students who want to develop confidence in delivering evidence-informed, trauma-competent cancer care.

Applications are now open for the September–November 2026 cohort. Places are limited and allocated on a first come, first served basis. Applications close 16 August 2026.

Learn more and apply via the NCIO website. https://www.ncio.org.uk/education

26/07/2026

Like mother like daughter. 💝

From physician to integrative cancer care specialist, belting numerous degrees in precision medicine, health care, chinese medicine, nutrition and holistic care…. to educator, CEO, director and patient advocate …. and above all a role model and amazing mother leading by example.

There are simply not enough words to capture the spirit of Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel who has now climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with her 12 year old daughter to raise funds for National Centre for Integrative Oncology - NCIO the FIRST integrative oncology charity co-led by oncology clinicians and people with lived experience of cancer.

The NCIO supports integrative oncology care, education and research to improve resilience, optimising overall treatment experience and clinical outcomes.

Please donate to our charity, and congratulate Nina and her daughter on the success of their recent challenge, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. 👏🙌👏Link below:👇

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ncio-killimanjaro-2026?utm_medium=CA&utm_source=CL

26/07/2026

Like mother like daughter. 💝

From physician to integrative cancer care specialist, belting numerous degrees in precision medicine, health care, chinese medicine, nutrition and holistic care…. to educator, CEO, director and patient advocate …. and above all a role model and amazing mother leading by example.

There are simply not enough words to capture the spirit of Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel who has now climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with her 12 year old daughter to raise funds for National Centre for Integrative Oncology - NCIO the FIRST integrative oncology charity co-led by oncology clinicians and people with lived experience of cancer.

The NCIO supports integrative oncology care, education and research to improve resilience, optimising overall treatment experience and clinical outcomes.

Please donate and congratulate Nina and her daughter on the success of their recent challenge, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. 👏🙌👏Link below:👇

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ncio-killimanjaro-2026?utm_medium=CA&utm_source=CL

treatment

02/07/2026

Addressing the significant psychosocial and physical unmet needs of women with a lived experience of breast cancer is possible.

But, how?

Advances in medicine mean more women are surviving breast cancer but as our research shows, they are not 'living well' beyond or with breast cancer. There are numerous unmet needs identified, collectively placing a dent on health outcomes.

In this paper, just published in Frontiers in Oncology, we show that can lead to compelling improvements in the quality of life of women including sleep, nutrition, exercise and mental health.

Psychological outcomes significantly impact clinical outcomes and it is now more urgent than ever to capitalise on integrative oncology methods to empower women optimising clinical outcomes, side by side with oncology.

Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel is a pioneering leader and the voice of integrative cancer care in the UK. She has empowered women through her life-changing work at the Synthesis Clinic and more recently the National Centre for Integrative Oncology - NCIO.

Our paper 👇 is a call out to communities with lived experiences of cancer that there is hope for living well with and beyond cancer.

BackgroundBreast cancer affects 2.3 million women annually worldwide, with survivors experiencing substantial unmet supportive care needs around symptom mana...

22/06/2026

From our friends and colleagues at Kings College University of London. Please take part in this important research if you have half an hour to spare. Scan the QR code and find out more.

Many thanks
Please share !!!
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📣 A call to our breast cancer community 💗

We are so close to completing our study and are looking for just 15 more women living with or beyond breast cancer to take part in a short online survey.

Our research is exploring how people experience their bodies after breast cancer, and your voice can help shape a better understanding of the emotional and physical challenges people face.

The online survey takes around 30 minutes to complete.

Please take part if you're eligible, and share this post widely within your networks. We're incredibly grateful for every participant and every share.
Thank you for supporting this research. 💗

03/06/2026

Do you have a few minutes to spare? If you have a diagnosis of primary breast cancer and have finished active treatment (you can be on herceptin, AIs and/or Tamoxifen) please consider taking part in this online study on fear of cancer recurrence. It’s short, online, and can be accessed from your phone/laptop/ipad etc.

This study is in collaboration with BRiC and has received full ethical approval.

Please email Bethan [email protected] for the link to the study

Many thanks

26/05/2026

New Online Support Programme for early breast cancer

Our colleagues at Edge Hill University are trialling a new online support programme. Please email Kian Hughes, the PhD researcher who is running the study. You have to be diagnosed within the last 12 months! and with primary breast cancer. Kian's email address is: [email protected]

Many thanks. As always, we encourage participation in research aiming to improve our quality of lives! see poster below 👇

21/05/2026

Please sign this petition! Seconds count. 🙏 fans

Enhertu is a drug that could extend thousands of lives. But it was rejected for use on the NHS in 2024 for being too expensive. Since then, thousands of people have missed out on the drug. And many have died. Robbed of the extra time it could have given them.

We now have a chance to stop anybody else missing out. But we need to act quickly, because the people who need this drug don’t have time to wait.

That's why, alongside METUP UK and Make 2nds Count we’re calling on Daiichi Sankyo, AstraZeneca, NHS England and NICE to urgently reach a deal to make Enhertu available on the NHS.

Sign the petition now: https://brnw.ch/21x2GZK

“We don’t have years to wait for negotiations. Every month matters. Every decision has real consequences for real families. Act with urgency, because behind every statistic is someone like me, trying to hold onto as much life as possible.” Sophie

“It’s cruel that my life has a price tag, and that price tag could see a young girl lose her mum sooner as a result. Every month I’m alive is another month closer to the hope of new treatment. But what’s the point of hope if I can’t access it. It’s torturous.” Kathryn

17/05/2026

✨Featuring Professor Nazanin Derakhshan ✨

Head of the GRiT (Growth and Resilience in Trauma) Centre.

Naz moved to NCIO from The University of Reading, UK. She also founded the BRiC Centre for breast cancer resilience. A breast cancer survivor, she was honored in 'Birkbeck Inspires' for her transformative research.

Her work focuses on neurocognitive mechanisms of anxiety and depression, developing interventions for vulnerable populations.

The GRiT centre focuses on:

1. Clinical care to foster post-traumatic growth for cancer patients and their support networks

2. Research initiatives aimed at integrating oncology programs effectively

3. Training healthcare professionals through our 3-month hybrid course on trauma-competent integrative psycho-oncology

Follow us and learn more about our educational course at www.ncio.org.uk

24/04/2026

"Resilience is not forged in the denial of vulnerability, but in its acceptance. Not in bouncing back, but in integrating what has happened into who you are becoming."

This beautiful article resonates very much with BRiC's mantra on how vulnerability and resilience are two sides of the same coin. We carry our vulnerability forward but are not consumed by it, we rise above it.

Push through, stay strong, fight back – people often think of resilience as being tough and having grit. But research suggests it’s more about acknowledging the scars as you continue to move forward.