Cambridge Cancer Help Centre

General information

Cambridge Cancer Help Centre was founded by Marilyn Barnes in 1986. She said that, after her operation, the surgeon told her that everything was looking good and that she should come back to the hospital in three months’ time. “But,” she said to herself, “what can I do to fight the cancer, to stay well and to give myself the best chance of full recovery?”

Recognising the need for mutual support, she founded the Centre to give people with cancer and their carers an opportunity to meet, talk and socialise and, if they wished, confide in each other. From small beginnings, the Centre now has a large and growing membership who visit from almost every village in Cambridgeshire .. with some from even further afield!

Everyone is welcome.

Lifeline, the Centre’s newsletter, published three times a year, reaches people all over the country, and beyond.

The Centre is run by a full-time coordinator supported by a number of volunteers. We do not provide medical advice or treatment. In our community there are excellent hospitals, doctors and nurses and we work to maintain links with the local services that provide diagnosis, treatment and hospice care. However, there are often long periods between visits to the clinic, between diagnosis and treatment, in the intervals of treatment and after the course of treatment is completed during which those concerned can feel anxious, depressed and alone. We aim to fill these gaps.

By providing understanding and a listening ear, by putting people in touch with others in a similar situation and by providing complementary therapies, counselling, self-help groups, relaxation sessions and much more, we provide support in these “in-between” periods.

At the Centre, people can speak openly in a warm and friendly environment. Indeed, the sense of a “safe haven”, psychological encouragement, friendship and mutual support – being able to give as well as receive – are seen as some of the most valuable benefits the Centre has to offer.

If you would like to know more, please contact our Coordinator 01223 840105.