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My name's Zahida Hussain, I'm a Macmillan cancer information and support
officer.
The Macmillan support line is there for anybody who's affected by cancer
who needs to talk, who needs any information, any support.
'No you take your time that's ok.
That's what we're here for'. Cancer does take over your life when you're
diagnosed with it but
just being able to speak to somebody, about continuing with their life,
kind of gives them their identity back, that they are somebody.
The problem is that not everybody knows that we're there to offer the emotional
side as well, it's not just
the financial and the medical, that the emotional affects them as well.
We'll get them ringing up and wanting to talk about how they're feeling,
is it OK if my brother rings you up because he's not taking it too
well.
I had a lady ring up saying 'she's my best friend we used to go out every weekend
and since she told me she had cancer I've not been able to see her
because if I go there I'm going to upset her because I'm going to start to cry. But then I don't want her to think I don't
care about her.
I said to her contact your friend, be truthful, just tell her that
you're there for her and if she wants to come over, and she did ring back a few days later
to say that they're going to meet up for a drink.
Before I started working here I didn't quite know what they did
but to know the amount of people that they do help who are affected by cancer
just simply by giving them the advice or support that they need.
If anybody's thinking about ringing up the line and are worried about it,
I'd say don't be worried just give us a call, we're here to listen,
there isn't any right or wrong call. We get people who just want to cry on the phone,
people who just wanna scream on the phone,
you just give us a call that's what we're here for. I don't know what I could say is the thing I
love most about the job. I think it's just at the end of the call knowing that
when they say thank you,
I didn't realise that you were there to help and I appreciate what you've done,
It puts a glow in you and you think to be able to have helped somebody like that
to such an effect and all it was was just listening to somebody, it just makes
your day and you go home with a big smile on your face