Helping people help themselves
Being told that you have cancer can leave you feeling shocked, upset and very isolated.
Even if you're lucky enough to have a supportive family and friends, it can be very difficult for them to understand what you're going through, unless they have had cancer themselves. By joining a local self help and support group, people can spend time talking to others who've shared and understand their experience.
Self help and support groups
We can link people to over 750 self help and support groups across the UK. To strengthen that network of support we also help people set up new groups and offer information and training to both new and existing groups.
In 2004 we were able to offer smalls grants of between £500 and £3,000 to groups for the first time. In 2005 we gave grants to 126 self help and support groups and in 2006 we plan to allocate £200,000 in grants.
'When I first saw a notice for a support group, I thought it wasn't for me. I thought it was for people who couldn't cope, that needing support wasn't "manly". But I can now say I think quite differently. I have met some wonderful people who have gone through so much.' Derek O'Connor, Face Fax support group
Living with cancer programmes
To help people to help themselves we also offer a series of Living with cancer programmes around the country. Tutors, who have experienced cancer themselves, share their recommendations for managing symptoms and side effects of treatment including relaxation techniques and visualisation exercises to help people regain their confidence and motivation and enjoy a better quality of life.
'My six week Living with Cancer course with Macmillan was all about finding ways to manage cancer, especially for people from the Asian community as there are certain expectations because of the culture and family life. We learned to deal with things like stress, anxiety and fatigue through relaxation and listening to our bodies and what we needed.' Nirmala De Silva