Being on the end of a phone is a vital part of Macmillan's support work

In an age of texting, WhatsApp, email and social media, it's perhaps easy to forget the importance of speaking to someone on the phone.
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The Macmillan cancer support line was first launched back in 2009.

It’s MacMillan’s national helpline which last year received more than 156,000 calls.

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The team provides financial advice, cancer information, support with welfare benefits advice, work and cancer information – the list goes on.

Jamie Davenport, Macmillan fundraising manager for north and coastal LincolnshireJamie Davenport, Macmillan fundraising manager for north and coastal Lincolnshire
Jamie Davenport, Macmillan fundraising manager for north and coastal Lincolnshire

It also provides a great service across the county and is a real source of support for people affected by cancer.

I know it’s great to speak to family, friends and people close to you, but they don’t always have the answers.

Sometimes you want anonymity or simply someone in the know.

I’ve spoken with many local supporters who have simply used the phone line for a chat or maybe to vent frustrations at a stressful time.

In 2016, 820 people in Lincolnshire called the helpline.

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These calls could have been from any age group, any background and not only been from the patient themselves, but also family members, friends, colleagues, employers, neighbours, healthcare professionals and anyone you can imagine.

I wanted to write this to explain why your support is so important to Macmillan.

Just £440 could fund one of the cancer information nurse specialists on the Macmillan support line for an hour.

Think of the help, support and comfort that person can provide and know that your support allows them to be on the end of that phone.

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As always, you can contact me with local fund raising enquires on 07595 091384 or [email protected].

Huge thanks to those already pledging support to our local schemes through volunteering and fund raising.

To contact the Macmillan support line, which is open Monday to Friday between 9am to 8pm, call 0808 8080000 or visit the website at www.macmillan.org.uk for more information.

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