Practical support at home when you are living with cancer
Help with daily life, with time for rest and the people who matter
During cancer treatment or recovery, everyday jobs can take more energy than usual. Getting ready for an appointment, preparing something to eat or changing the bedding may become tiring. Through our Home Care service, we can help with these tasks and personal routines, giving you more opportunity to rest or spend time doing something you enjoy.
Our team has experience supporting people living with cancer and their families, and we currently provide this care at home. We understand that the help you want may differ across a treatment cycle. You might appreciate company and a prepared meal after an appointment, a slower start the following morning or extra assistance while recovering from surgery.
We talk with you about your routines, treatment plans and the support already provided by people close to you. Together, we agree where our carers can help, whether through short-term visits, ongoing assistance or respite for a family carer. We keep in touch as treatment and daily life change so we can review the support with you.
Cancer care and support at a glance
- Current experience supporting people and families affected by cancer
- Free, no-obligation assessment, normally in the person’s home
- Personalised care plan shaped around health, treatment, abilities, wishes, routines and professional guidance
- Carer matching that considers cancer-care experience, training, assessed competencies and personal fit
- A small, familiar team wherever possible
- Visits from 30 minutes, with short-term and ongoing arrangements available
- Care plans reviewed at least monthly and whenever needs change
- Rated Good by the Care Quality Commission
Understanding the impact of cancer on everyday life
Different diagnoses, treatments and experiences need an individual response
Cancer is a broad term for a group of conditions in which abnormal cells grow and divide in an uncontrolled way. There are many types of cancer, and the effect on daily life depends on factors including the part of the body affected, the stage of the cancer, the treatment being given, other health conditions and the person’s own circumstances.
Some people remain independent throughout treatment and only want help on particular days. Others may need more support after surgery, during chemotherapy or radiotherapy, while managing advanced cancer, or because fatigue and other effects continue after treatment has ended. Needs can vary within the same week or treatment cycle, so care has to be observant and able to respond.
The emotional impact can be just as individual. A person may feel frightened, angry, low, uncertain or simply tired of talking about cancer. They may also want ordinary conversation, familiar routines and time in which the illness is not the focus. Our carers follow the person’s lead, respect privacy and help them retain choice and control wherever possible.
The NHS cancer guide explains symptoms, diagnosis and treatment in more detail. Our contribution is personal care and practical help at home, alongside the treatment and clinical support provided by your cancer team, GP and other healthcare professionals.
Nearly 1 in 2 people
Estimated lifetime risk of being diagnosed with cancer for people born in the UK in 1961. Source: Cancer Research UK, accessed 28 August 2026.
Almost 3.5 million people
People estimated to be living with cancer in the UK in 2025. Source: Macmillan Cancer Support, statistics updated in 2026.
More than 403,000 each year
New cancer cases recorded annually in the UK using the latest combined years reported. Source: Cancer Research UK, data for 2019 and 2021–2022, accessed 28 August 2026.
When cancer care at home can help
Support during treatment, after hospital and as everyday needs change
Planning some help before treatment starts can make the coming weeks easier to organise. You may also want assistance after an operation, during a demanding treatment cycle or while rebuilding your strength afterwards. We can talk through the days and routines where support would be useful, including time for a partner or relative to take a break.
People and circumstances
Care at home may help:
- someone having chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, hormone therapy or another treatment who needs practical help between appointments
- a person preparing for or recovering from cancer surgery who would benefit from short-term support at home
- someone living with fatigue, weakness, pain, reduced mobility or other effects that make everyday routines more demanding
- a person whose treatment has finished but who is still rebuilding strength, confidence and independence
- someone living alone who would value regular help, company and reassurance
- a person living with advanced cancer who needs more consistent personal and practical support
- partners, relatives or friends who are sharing care and need reliable respite
- families exploring Palliative Care at Home alongside the clinical and hospice teams involved
For some people, support is needed for a few weeks around treatment or recovery. Others value an ongoing arrangement. We discuss the likely timescale with you and review it as your circumstances develop.
Signs that a care conversation may help
It may be useful to talk to us when:
- washing, dressing, toileting, oral care or getting ready is taking more energy than the person has
- meals and drinks are difficult to plan or prepare, appetite has changed, or professional dietary guidance needs following
- prescribed medication, appointments or treatment-day routines are becoming difficult to organise
- fatigue means essential tasks use up the energy the person wants for family life, rest or recovery
- walking, transfers, stairs or the use of equipment need assessed support
- the person feels isolated, anxious or less able to continue activities and relationships they value
- help is needed after discharge from hospital or during a change in treatment or health
- a partner, relative or friend is tired, worried or struggling to balance caring with work and family responsibilities
During our conversation, we look at when these tasks are most demanding and what would make them easier. That helps us suggest useful visit times and focus the care on your priorities.
How our carers can help with daily life
Personal care, practical tasks and company during treatment and recovery
We can help you get ready at a comfortable pace, prepare food when cooking feels tiring or take care of household jobs while you rest. Your care plan brings together the assistance you want, your preferred routines and relevant advice from your healthcare team, so our carers understand how to support you.
Personal care and daily routines
Fatigue, pain, weakness, breathlessness or restricted movement after treatment can make personal routines difficult. Care may include:
- Washing, showering, bathing, dressing and grooming
- Oral care, toileting and assessed continence routines
- Morning, evening and bedtime visits
- Help to organise clothing, bedding and essential personal items
- Enough time for the person to take part without being hurried
Support is provided with privacy and dignity, encouraging the person to do what they can and want to do for themselves.
Meals, drinks and agreed nutrition guidance
Cancer and treatment can affect appetite, taste, swallowing, energy and digestion. Support may include:
- Planning and preparing preferred meals, snacks and drinks
- Adapting the timing and size of meals around the person’s routine and current plan
- Providing calm company or practical help at mealtimes
- Following written guidance from a dietitian, speech and language therapist or clinical team
- Recording intake and reporting concerns where this forms part of the care plan
We follow the eating and drinking advice provided by your clinical team and share concerns about swallowing, reduced intake or changes in weight promptly, so they can review the guidance when needed.
Medication and treatment-day support
We can help you keep on top of agreed medication routines and prepare for appointments. Medication support is assessed individually and provided by carers whose training and practical skills have been checked for the tasks involved.
- Reminders or assistance with prescribed medicines included in your care plan
- Support with medicines prescribed to be taken when needed, or controlled medicines, following the required written instructions and safeguards
- Accurate medication administration records and care notes
- Help to gather the items you want to take to appointments
- Accompaniment or transport to treatment and follow-up appointments where arranged
Your cancer team manages your treatment, and your prescriber decides which medicines and doses you need. Our carers follow the agreed instructions and contact the appropriate professional if concerns arise.
Mobility, recovery and conserving energy
Support can be planned around the person’s current strength, treatment cycle, mobility assessment and recovery goals.
- Assistance with standing, walking and transfers where assessed
- Using prescribed mobility aids and moving-and-handling equipment
- Breaking routines into manageable steps with rest in between
- Keeping essential items within easy reach and reducing avoidable effort
- Following agreed physiotherapy or occupational therapy guidance
Carers notice and record changes such as increasing weakness, falls, dizziness or breathlessness and use the agreed escalation route.
Practical help around the home
Taking care of essential household tasks can protect the person’s energy and make home feel easier to manage.
- Light household tasks connected with the care visit
- Laundry, changing bed linen and keeping key areas comfortable
- Shopping and putting away groceries where agreed
- Preparing items needed for treatment days or hospital stays
- Help to maintain familiar routines for pets, post and day-to-day organisation
The plan identifies the practical tasks that matter most so visits remain useful, realistic and centred on the person’s priorities.
Companionship, emotional reassurance and family respite
The person may want to talk about cancer, or they may want company in which ordinary life takes the lead.
- Conversation and company shaped around the person’s interests and energy
- Support to continue hobbies, social contact or time outdoors where suitable
- A reassuring presence before or after appointments
- Sitting visits and planned respite for partners, relatives or friends
- Updates for agreed family members where the person has consented
A familiar carer can offer dependable individual attention while giving relatives genuine time to rest, work or focus on their relationship rather than every practical task.
Home care alongside your cancer treatment
Helping you follow everyday care advice between appointments
Your cancer team may give you advice about medicines, eating and drinking, movement or recovery at home. With your consent, we include the relevant instructions in your care plan and follow them during visits. We also keep the appropriate professionals informed about concerns our carers notice, helping connect your day-to-day support with the clinical care you receive.
Supporting the agreed plan at home
With the person’s consent, the care plan can include relevant written instructions, treatment-day routines, prescribed medication arrangements, professional advice about eating and drinking, assessed mobility support and the contacts to use when concerns arise.
During visits, carers can record observations such as changes in energy, appetite, intake, mobility, pain, skin condition, mood or everyday ability. They share concerns promptly through the agreed route so the clinician responsible can assess symptoms and make treatment decisions.
Knowing who to contact if you feel unwell
Before care begins, we record the advice and contact numbers provided by your treatment team. Our carers know which changes need reporting and who to contact, so concerns noticed during a visit can be passed on promptly for clinical advice.
Some cancer treatments increase the risk of infection. We follow your team’s instructions about temperature changes, signs of infection and feeling unwell, including contacting their urgent advice line when required. For a medical emergency, we call 999.
Why choose CM Bespoke Care?
Reliable help when treatment brings changes to everyday life
We are a family-owned and managed care agency with offices in Cleobury Mortimer and Church Stretton. When appointments and recovery are taking up time and energy, dependable support at home matters. We get to know your usual routines, the help you welcome and how you prefer us to work alongside family or friends.
A dedicated care manager oversees your support, with clear records to keep carers informed and regular reviews to discuss how things are going. If treatment plans change or you need more help with a particular part of the day, our team can talk through the options with you.
Our cancer-care experience and standards
Carefully matched carers with consistent oversight
We have current experience supporting people and families affected by cancer. Assessment looks beyond the diagnosis to the person’s treatment, current abilities, symptoms, routines, emotional needs, family involvement and the professional plans already in place.
- Carer matching that considers relevant experience, training, assessed competencies, personality, communication style, routines, location and availability
- A small, consistent group of carers wherever possible
- Shadow shifts, observations, spot checks, supervision and task-specific competency assessment
- A dedicated care manager, secure digital records and seven-day on-call support for existing clients
- Formal care-plan reviews at least monthly and whenever needs change
- A current Good rating from the Care Quality Commission
What people say about CM Bespoke Care
Real experiences shared by clients and families
Inviting someone into the home during illness or recovery requires trust. Independent Google reviews describe how clients and families have experienced our carers’ reliability, companionship, communication and practical support.
Arranging cancer care and support at home
Talk with our team and arrange a free home assessment
We begin with a conversation about the support you are looking for and any upcoming treatment or hospital discharge dates. Our team will explain how we can help and arrange a free home assessment to explore your routines, preferences and practical care needs in more detail.
Tell us where help would be useful
Let us know the general area where care is needed, the tasks you would like help with and any important treatment or return-home dates. We listen to your priorities and discuss the next steps with you.
Free home assessment
A trained senior team member will usually visit you at home to discuss how treatment or recovery is affecting your day. We look at the help you would like, any advice from your healthcare team and how visits could fit around appointments and rest. You can include a relative or someone you trust. Most assessments take around 60 to 90 minutes, with more time available when needed, and there is no obligation to proceed.
Agree the plan and suitable carers
The support is recorded in a person-centred care plan, with relevant professional guidance included with consent. Management approves the plan and matches carers whose experience, training, assessed competencies and personal approach suit the person’s needs.
Begin care with dependable oversight
A dedicated care manager oversees continuity, communication and quality. We formally review the plan at least monthly and whenever treatment, health, abilities, routines or family circumstances change.
Ways we can support you at home
Short-term help, regular visits and longer periods of care
You may want visits around treatment days, help during recovery from surgery or more regular support with daily life. We can also arrange respite for someone who cares for you. During your free home assessment, we explain the options and recommend an approach that suits your routines and the assistance you need.
Visiting Home Care
Regular or short-term visits can provide focused help with personal routines, meals, medication, household tasks, appointments or companionship while the person remains in control of the rest of their day.
Explore Home Care
Live-in Care
A carer living in your home can help with personal routines, meals and practical tasks across the day, with time for company too. We plan the arrangement around your treatment schedule, preferred routines and the support you need during recovery or ongoing illness.
Explore Live-in Care
Respite Care at Home
Planned respite can give a partner, relative or friend time to rest, work or attend to other responsibilities while reliable support continues in familiar surroundings.
Explore Respite Care
Palliative Care at Home
Palliative Care at Home can provide personal and practical support alongside the medical, community nursing and hospice professionals involved, with comfort, wishes and family life kept central.
Explore Palliative CareAreas covered for Cancer Care and Support at Home
Local care organised around the person, their treatment and their home
We support people and families across Shropshire and welcome enquiries from North Worcestershire and parts of Herefordshire. Our local team takes time to understand the person’s circumstances, the treatment or professional plans involved and the practical support that would make home life easier. The links below explain more about Home Care in each part of our service area.
If you are looking for support during cancer treatment, recovery or changing health—or are not yet sure what kind of care would be most useful—please talk to our team. We can check availability at your address and arrange a free, no-obligation assessment.
Home care in Shropshire
Home care in Worcestershire
Home care in Herefordshire
Locally coordinated care across our service area
Two Shropshire offices supporting responsive care
The maps below show our offices in Cleobury Mortimer and Church Stretton. From these local bases, our team coordinates carers, care planning, travel and day-to-day communication across Shropshire, North Worcestershire and parts of Herefordshire. This helps keep support organised and responsive when treatment times or health needs change.
Ground Floor Office Suite, Upper Baveney Park, Cleobury Mortimer, Kidderminster, Shropshire, DY14 8LF
Unit 1, Sandford Court, Sandford Avenue, Church Stretton, Shropshire, SY6 6BH
Cancer information and support in Shropshire
Advice, emotional support and help with practical concerns
Alongside help at home, you may value someone to talk to about treatment, relationships, money or life after cancer. The independent services below offer different kinds of support, from hospital information and counselling to local wellbeing activities and advice for family carers.
Local cancer information and specialist support
SaTH Cancer Services and Macmillan Support Centres
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust provides cancer services and has Macmillan Information and Support Centres at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital. Trained staff and volunteers offer information, practical and emotional support for people affected by cancer and those close to them.
Visit SaTH Cancer Services and find the Macmillan Support Centres.
The Hamar Centre
The Hamar Centre offers counselling and wellbeing support for adults receiving cancer care through The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, including those treated within the past 18 months. One-to-one counselling and couples support provide space to talk about how cancer has affected your life and relationships. Its website explains the full eligibility criteria and how to refer yourself or ask a healthcare professional for a referral.
Severn Hospice
Severn Hospice provides specialist palliative care and support free of charge to families across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Mid Wales who are living with an incurable illness. Palliative care can support symptom control and quality of life and is not limited to the final days.
Wellbeing, advice and care assessments
Lingen Davies Cancer Support
Lingen Davies Cancer Support funds free-to-access wellbeing activities for people living with and beyond cancer in the local community. Its Cancer Hub brings together current activities, information and support for people affected by cancer and carers.
Visit the Lingen Davies Cancer Hub
Shropshire Council Care Act assessment and direct payments
A Care Act assessment looks at day-to-day needs, goals and eligibility for council support. Eligible adults can ask about a direct payment, which may provide a way to arrange agreed care and support. This council assessment is separate from our free Home Care assessment.
Read about the Care Act assessment and direct payments for adults.
Shropshire carers’ assessment
A carers’ assessment is a free conversation about how caring affects the carer’s health, work, relationships and wellbeing, and what support may help. It is separate from the assessment of the person receiving care.
Frequently asked questions about Cancer Care and Support at Home
Talk to our team about cancer care at home
Let us help you plan practical support during treatment and beyond
If you would like help at home during cancer treatment, after a hospital stay or while living with ongoing illness, we would be glad to talk. Tell us about your routines, the general area where care is needed and any dates you are working towards. We will listen and explain how our team can support you.
Our free home assessment gives us time to meet you, discuss your preferences and recommend suitable care. You are welcome to involve a partner, relative or friend. We will talk through the proposed support and costs, answer your questions and give you time to consider the arrangement.
