The people you help

Your fundraising will make a vital difference to the two million people living with cancer in the UK today.

Want to know more? Read the stories below to find out how your fundraising could help change lives.

Sandy from Hampshire

I was supported by my Macmillan Breast Cancer Nurse Geraldine prior to and after my mastectomy operation. After all the treatment had finished I felt elated at first but then very quickly started feeling down. After a whole year of treatment there was suddenly no one telling me what to do and suddenly I felt very alone. Geraldine picked up on how I felt and referred me onto an exercise referral programme.

The exercise programme changed my life; I have never felt more healthy or fit. Without Geraldine pushing me I would have just sat here and wallowed in my own misery. The exercise scheme referral was the turning point in my life - not only have I beaten cancer but I have never felt so well and been fitter. That's all thanks to Geraldine, without her realising I wouldn't feel so great now.

I am still exercising and feeling good. My Macmillan Nurse helped me turn my life around and now I would like to do what I can to help - that's why I hold a coffee morning every year with people from all over Ringwood.

 

Andrew from Essex

Andrew discovered he had cancer after having pain in his neck which eventually became unbearable. It got to the point where he was unable to walk, crawling on all fours to get to the bathroom on a couple of occasions. He saw five different GPs, but the diagnosis was always related to a ruptured muscle he also had in his stomach. Finally he was referred to a pain specialist and within two weeks had had tests, x-rays and a diagnosis of cancer. He also discovered his neck was broken as a result of the tumour having grown so much next to his spine.

Finding out was a shock, but Andrew felt that finally knowing what it was causing the pain was better than not knowing. His approach was 'right, what are we going to do about it', rather than dwelling on it.

He had a course of radiotherapy|, which seemed to cure the tumour, but two of his vertebrae had collapsed so he was still unable to walk more than 50 yards. At this point he got a new GP and she introduced him to the Macmillan team at Basildon Hospital, which he says 'changed my life'.

A Macmillan nurse| came round to his house and saw the problems he was having getting around, even doing day to day things such as washing up. Although he hated admitting to that, as it makes him sound like a typical man trying to get out of the chores. The nurses helped him make changes such as getting an automatic rather than manual car and arranging for day to day care and adaptations.

But the most impressive thing Andrew has had from his Macmillan nurses is the emotional support: 'I was finding it emotionally very difficult to cope. There was just so much going through my mind, in particular "why is this happening to us", why me?", and talking to them has helped me greatly in dealing with it.

'I don’t think people realise that Macmillan nurses give this support to people. They also helped my wife and have been there for her to talk to too – which has really helped her cope with what’s happening to me.'

Andrew used to work in the freight industry, in an office on the first floor, but had not been able to work since his diagnosis. He was made redundant by his former company in July of this year and he worried about how they were going to cope.

The nurses put him in touch with the Welfare Rights Service|, who were very thorough and looked into every benefit that he might be entitled to. The service has secured mobility allowance for him and he doesn’t have to pay council tax now: 'The Macmillan Welfare Rights team got me mobility allowance, which has made an enormous difference – basically it enables me to live.'

Tom from Kent

'I was just 22 when I was told I had cancer. The symptoms were all very vague and for a long time they thought it was related to an injury I’d had two years earlier. 

'After lots of hospital visits they eventually decided to take a biopsy. Sitting in the small interview room waiting to hear the results was horrendous. The world stopped when they broke the news that I’d got a rare bone cancer, Ewing’s Sarcoma|. 

'My mum and I were in shock and we both wept together but the Macmillan nurse| gave us comfort, she explained that it was treatable and calmed our fears. She was there for me all through the treatment, answered all my questions, and even helped me get a disabled parking badge.'

Laurel from London

'I’m a single mum with three daughters whom I love dearly so being told I had cancer was an awful shock to our family. From the moment I had my first appointment with the specialist, I was assigned a Macmillan nurse|.  She supported me all the way through my chemo| and radiotherapy treatment|, and then followed things up with weekly calls to me at home. 

'It's been a tough time; I’m suffering side effects and have lost confidence but even now my Macmillan nurse is always there at my check ups to see how I’m doing and ask how the girls are.'

Pauline from Bedfordshire

'My Macmillan nurse, Amanda, was brilliant, putting me at ease about my treatment and on bad days just allowing me to fall apart in her arms. Also, as I was struggling with money, she put me in touch with a benefits adviser| who got me through the often long and difficult process. Thanks to Macmillan, I could see there was a light at the end of the tunnel and that I wasn't alone.'

Liz from London

'My Macmillan nurse, Doreen, visits me at home and helps with benefits forms and everything like that. It’s so nice to be in your own home environment where you can talk about anything that’s troubling you.

'She’s a great comfort and most of all she helps me to realise that you have to be strong, and that you’re not dying of cancer, you’re living with cancer|. And that’s stayed with me all this time. She’s just become a really nice friend and I can ring her at any time.'

Dennis from Glasgow

'The moment I heard my wife had cancer, everything else just seemed to stop. I was confused, distraught, and I thought it was the end of the world. But thanks to Macmillan, I found out it wasn’t the end of the world.

'I can come up to a Macmillan centre| and be able to sit and just have a cup of tea, or speak to someone. It lets me charge my batteries and be able to go back home and look after my wife again.

'I think everybody’s cancer journey is different. If we never had the support from Macmillan, I don’t know where our path would have taken us. But with education and being told every step of what’s going to happen, it’s made it so much easier for us.'