Brighton’s Macmillan Centre turns three

In the past year, nearly 5,000 visits and calls have been made to the centre, which provides information and support, with more than 1,000 referrals made for welfare and benefits advice.

Besides the information service, the centre, which is located close to the Royal Sussex Hospital at 2 Bristol Gate, also offers counselling, physical activity sessions, complementary therapies, social activities, body image workshops, and more for people affected by cancer.

Bill Woods, from Burgess Hill, visited the centre for information after his prostate cancer diagnosis.

He said: “I visited the centre with my wife soon after being diagnosed and spoke to an information support worker who was extremely helpful.

“She was knowledgeable about my cancer and allayed my fears about the operation I was facing. It was very reassuring and after we left, I thought ‘I can deal with this – it’s going to be okay’.”

Lesley Graney from Shoreham was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer at the beginning of the year. She said: “My cancer diagnosis was a devastating shock. It was like being made to walk out on to a tightrope, scared, uncertain, and all on my own.

“Macmillan Horizon Centre was like the ‘safety net’ I never knew was there. In those early days I ‘fell off the rope’ a number of times but ‘the net’ was there with its team of people to help me get up and back onto the tightrope.

“I will always be on the tightrope with my secondary breast cancer but ‘my net’ and my team will always be there too.”

The centre is funded almost entirely by public donations.

For more information about events at the centre, volunteer vacancies, or to find out how to donate, visit The Horizon Centre’s website.