The Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Service in Nottingham is reuniting its past patients with their nurses, healthcare professionals and volunteers at a special event to celebrate the 21-year anniversary of the service.

The centre at Nottingham City Hospital was the first of its kind in the UK and its success paved the way for more than 250 Macmillan centres to be set up in towns, cities and villages across the country providing free, confidential cancer information and support.

More than 38,300 people in Nottingham have been supported by the service since the first centre opened 21 years ago and it is still a lifeline for local people living with cancer today, like Alan Woods, 71, who is living with incurable lung cancer.

Alan was first diagnosed in May 2016 and given just months to live as the cancer had spread, which meant surgery was not an option. He agreed to trial a brand new immunotherapy treatment developed in America. Two years later, the tumours have shrunk and although they will never be cured, the cancer is now stable.

He said: “It came completely out of the blue, because I was so healthy. I was walking seven miles a day and all I had was a bit of congestion. It took a long time for me to be diagnosed because my symptoms were so vague.

“When I was told I could be looking at months, not years, it was a complete shock. They were dark days. I turned around and said I was quite prepared to do any treatment provided I was not sat in a chair not being able to do anything. I said if I can’t lead a normal life I don’t want to just be kept alive.”

Alan went straight to the Macmillan Information and Support Service, where he was given the information and support he and his family needed to cope with the diagnosis.

He said: “The support the centre offers is vitally important. When people come in they are not just given booklets, they are given help and advice straight away, whether it’s financial or emotional.

“I was lucky because we faced the diagnosis as a family and they supported me in every decision I made, but not everyone has that support network and for them the centre really is a lifeline.”

Alison Hall, Macmillan Cancer Information Specialist at the service, is appealing to the public to help track down patients, nurses, healthcare professionals and volunteers who worked in the centre so she can reunite them at a special anniversary event planned for the centre’s official anniversary on 5th July.

She said: “The service is so special to so many people. Before the centre was set up, there was nowhere people could go for free, confidential cancer advice and support anywhere in the country. People had to actually pay for cancer information booklets.”

In its first year the service was run by a nurse and supported 2,200 people. This year Alison expects to see over 8000 people and has a team of dedicated cancer specialists and volunteers.

She said: “Survival rates are better than ever and cancer no longer carries the death sentence that it used to. This is due in part to advances in medicine, but also the availability of better cancer information about everything from signs and symptoms, to late effects of treatment and how to take care of yourself. Macmillan have played a huge part in that.”

Alison said people are now looking for more practical support than they did 21 years ago because they’re living longer with cancer.

“People expect to live a better quality of life with cancer now and want to continue doing the things they did before their diagnosis, so we might help people with things like shopping, gardening or walking the dog which is a big change compared to 20 years ago where it was more about survival.”

Alison has already managed to track down Susie Hodson, who was one of the first nurses to run the service in Nottingham between 2001 and 2003.

Susie said: “The Macmillan Nottingham Cancer Information and Support service is an invaluable resource for everyone affected by cancer and I feel we should all continue to work in partnership to maximise the benefits of the information and support that we are able to offer people and their families.

“When I managed the centre it was run as a drop in or telephone Clinical Information and Support service for anyone affected by cancer. A very high proportion of people accessing the service then were coming for further information and clarification regarding their diagnosis, treatment options, aims of treatment and managing side effects.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is the bond that Macmillan cancer information and support specialists build with patients.

Alison Hall continued: “There are some things people don’t want to burden their family with, like funeral arrangements or sex and relationship concerns, so they talk to us instead.

“There are some things they’ve never said out loud before, but because we have that confidential space and we’re removed from their family and medical team, they feel they can offload it on us. We’re just there for them.

“There’s no other service for cancer patients where people can just walk into a centre without an appointment or a referral and get information and support for free. It’s amazing.”

If you were supported by the Macmillan Information and Support Service in Nottingham or worked in the centre either as a volunteer or member of staff get in touch with Alison Hall on 0115 8402650 or email [email protected]