The NHS should scrap bell-ringing ceremonies that signal the end of cancer treatment, says a patient battling the disease.In cancer wards, hospitals and clinics, when a patient has completed radiotherapy or chemotherapy, they are often encouraged to ring a bell to show they have ‘beaten’ the disease.The ceremonies, which began in the US in the 1990s and were introduced to the UK in 2013, now feature at more than 250 hospitals. Staff clap and family members cheer while the patient reads out a poem – and often post a video online.They are such a symbol of beating cancer that the charity Children with Cancer UK has a child ringing a bell on its logo. +2 img id="i-87278df089145259" src=" height="845" width="634" alt="A patient battling breast cancer has said bell-ringing ceremonies that signal the end of treatment should be scrapped. Pictured is Josh Cubbin ringing a bell on a ward" class="blkBorder img-share" / Copy link to paste in your message A patient battling breast cancer has said bell-ringing ceremonies that signal the end of treatment should be scrapped. Pictured is Josh Cubbin ringing a bell on a wardBut Jo Taylor, founder of campaign group After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, has called for the ‘brash’ bells to be scrapped. The mother-of-two, 50, has undergone 88 rounds of treatment since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.Writing in the British Medical Journal, Mrs Taylor, of Diggle, near Oldham, said: ‘For those of us living with recurrent cancer who have little prospect of being cured, hearing this bell being rung is like a kick in the teeth.’She added: ‘Living with recurrent breast cancer is hard. It feels as if the disease has one aim – it wants to kill the person it’s growing in. For those who are shouldering this burden, it’s important that we avoid adding to it. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Wedding photography company slams social media 'influencer'... Schoolboy, 16, defies the bullies who taunt him for being... Share this article Share ‘I am sure that I am not the only person who has heard the end-of- treatment bell and left the unit in despair, weeping on the way home from treatment which we know will not cure us.‘People think it’s an encouraging thing to have a bell. I disagree, I think it’s divisive and cruel. For me, it just reminds me of my own mortality and that I will never get to ring it because I will never finish treatment.’Mrs Taylor, who has a life expectancy of two to three years, points out that as many as 30 per cent of patients who ring the bell when they finish treatment for primary stage breast cancer will, like her, develop secondary cancer in another part of the body. +2 img id="i-fcc313521c8d6bb7" src=" height="845" width="634" alt="Josh Cubbin's mother Jane, 44, pictured with her son, said: 'To take the bel
NHS should scrap bell-ringing ceremonies, says cancer patient
The NHS should scrap bell-ringing ceremonies that signal the end of cancer treatment, says a patient battling the disease.In cancer wards, hospitals and clinics, when a patient has completed radiotherapy or chemotherapy, they are often encouraged to ring a bell to show they have ‘beaten’ the disease.The ceremonies, which began in the US in the 1990s and were introduced to the UK in 2013, now feature at more than 250 hospitals. Staff clap and family members cheer while the patient reads out a poem – and often post a video online.They are such a symbol of beating cancer that the charity Children with Cancer UK has a child ringing a bell on its logo. +2 img id="i-87278df089145259" src=" height="845" width="634" alt="A patient battling breast cancer has said bell-ringing ceremonies that signal the end of treatment should be scrapped. Pictured is Josh Cubbin ringing a bell on a ward" class="blkBorder img-share" / Copy link to paste in your message A patient battling breast cancer has said bell-ringing ceremonies that signal the end of treatment should be scrapped. Pictured is Josh Cubbin ringing a bell on a wardBut Jo Taylor, founder of campaign group After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, has called for the ‘brash’ bells to be scrapped. The mother-of-two, 50, has undergone 88 rounds of treatment since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.Writing in the British Medical Journal, Mrs Taylor, of Diggle, near Oldham, said: ‘For those of us living with recurrent cancer who have little prospect of being cured, hearing this bell being rung is like a kick in the teeth.’She added: ‘Living with recurrent breast cancer is hard. It feels as if the disease has one aim – it wants to kill the person it’s growing in. For those who are shouldering this burden, it’s important that we avoid adding to it. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Wedding photography company slams social media 'influencer'... Schoolboy, 16, defies the bullies who taunt him for being... Share this article Share ‘I am sure that I am not the only person who has heard the end-of- treatment bell and left the unit in despair, weeping on the way home from treatment which we know will not cure us.‘People think it’s an encouraging thing to have a bell. I disagree, I think it’s divisive and cruel. For me, it just reminds me of my own mortality and that I will never get to ring it because I will never finish treatment.’Mrs Taylor, who has a life expectancy of two to three years, points out that as many as 30 per cent of patients who ring the bell when they finish treatment for primary stage breast cancer will, like her, develop secondary cancer in another part of the body. +2 img id="i-fcc313521c8d6bb7" src=" height="845" width="634" alt="Josh Cubbin's mother Jane, 44, pictured with her son, said: 'To take the bel
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