In 2007 Yeleni Therapy & Support was incorporated as a charity that offered a free package of therapies and ongoing support to anyone with any form of cancer, as well as providing support for those people in a caring role around them. I also feel passionate about helping people in general to maintain wellness which is far easier than curing illness and so Yeleni is here for everyone, the paying public help to create an income stream for our charitable aims.

My inspiration to set up Yeleni Therapy & Support came via a variety of life events that led towards me making the decision to set up a cancer charity.

Firstly, my dear sister-in-law Sandy told me about this place in South London called Breast Cancer Haven when she had her cancer diagnosis over 25 years ago. She explained how calm and relaxing it was and how she was able to access some free therapies and had lots of support. It sounded wonderful. Then some years later the second Breast Cancer Haven opened right next door to where I was running a Complementary Health Centre called Healing Earth and I was invited to go and work as a therapist there one day a week. I gained firsthand experience of how they operated and how much benefit the free service gave to those with breast cancer. I found myself thinking how wonderful it was for these women with breast cancer but what about the other 200+ cancers that there are out there?

Secondly, I had the privilege of working with two terminally ill children who both had cancer. In both cases the children’s grandmothers came to the centre and asked if I could help their grandchild with Reiki therapy. In both cases the children themselves wanted me to be there, and their families said how calm and peaceful they were after each session. So, I kept going to see them in their homes and then hospice right up until they both passed away.

When I reflect upon this time in my life I think I was being given one of the hardest scenarios to work with, that of a dying child, to see if I could cope with it. Although it wasn’t easy and it was so far removed from anything I had ever experienced before as a therapist it was such an honour and a privilege to know and be part of these two special children supporting them and their families at the end of their lives. Thirdly, I was given the name Yeleni. When I was going to teach my first ever Reiki class over 20 years ago, I was standing quietly in the centre of the circle tuning into Reiki and suddenly out of nowhere I had the name Yeleni drop into my consciousness. I did not know what the name was for back then but as I decided to create this new cancer charity, I realised that this is what the name was for. The nearest meaning for this name that I have found is a derivative of the Ancient Greek name Yelena which means “bringer of light”. This for me fits perfectly with what I am trying to do with this cancer charity, bringing light to a dark time in someone’s life, bringing the light of hope and education, dispelling the darkness of illness, fear and anxiety.

I had no idea that the creation of this charity would prove to be my life’s work but I feel blessed to have been given the inspiration and the opportunity to bring it into being and I can only hope that it may continue long after I have gone for as long as cancer patients need a light to help guide them in the darkness.