Hemel mum-of-three meets her Macmillan 'angel' for the first time on charity's coffee morning

Macmillan Cancer Support provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer
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A former breast cancer patient from Hemel Hempstead met the Macmillan ‘angel’ who helped her resolve her money worries for the first time at a Macmillan Coffee Morning event in Redbourn.

Jenny Powell, 38, had never met her Macmillan Welfare Benefits Adviser, Debbie Kingsley, in person, because all their exchanges had taken place over the phone.

She said: “If Debbie hadn’t told me about the Macmillan Grant, I would have had to struggle, especially because everything happened so quickly.

Jenny met Debbie at a Macmillan Coffee MorningJenny met Debbie at a Macmillan Coffee Morning
Jenny met Debbie at a Macmillan Coffee Morning

"When I found out about it I just wanted to cry, Debbie was like an angel to me.”

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She was referred for tests the week after seeing a GP face-to-face, and has had a smooth experience of cancer services since then – she had her mastectomy operation on December 22, her radiotherapy treatment in the summer, and is due to have breast reconstruction surgery next year.

She knows that she has been lucky not to experience disruption, compared to some other cancer patients.

Jenny after her mastectomyJenny after her mastectomy
Jenny after her mastectomy

After her diagnosis, Jenny very quickly found that the costs of cancer didn’t fit into her carefully managed budget.

There were several items she needed to purchase ahead of her mastectomy operation and not only was she out of work at the time, but the lockdown meant her children were at home.

Had her wider family not stepped in to provide lifts, she would also have faced costly journeys via taxi and bus to hospital appointments, as she doesn’t own a car.

She was referred to the Hertfordshire Macmillan Welfare Benefits Advice Service, which exists to help people with cancer to understand and claim the benefits and financial help they are entitled to.

Her Macmillan Welfare Benefits adviser Debbie swiftly helped her claim a Macmillan Grant to cover the cost of support bras, a hospital bag, new clothes and make-up, to help her feel more like herself.

Jenny said: “She’s literally done everything for me when it comes to applying for extra financial support; she just knows what to do and when to do it.

“If Debbie hadn’t told me about the grant, I would have had to struggle, especially because everything happened so quickly."

Jenny has also been closely supported by her Macmillan breast cancer nurse, who was in the room when she received her diagnosis.

She credits her with breaking down complex information about her treatment and surgery, listening to her darkest fears and just generally ‘making the experience more comfortable than scary’.

She said: “They [Macmillan nurses] deal with cancer day in, day out, so whatever you tell them isn’t so daunting to them - they can give you the facts without making you feel like the world is ending.

"I knew that whatever they were doing was in my best interest and never had to worry about what treatment I was having, or how the mastectomy would work, because Emma explained it all to me.

"They take away this massive burden that no one wants to deal with and in this way make the experience more comfortable than scary. Having them there felt like I was being wrapped in a blanket and told everything would be okay. They made me feel like I wasn’t just a number.”

Jenny is now in remission and will be taking tamoxifen, to reduce the likelihood of her cancer returning, for the next decade.

Last week, bakery manager Jenny was banging the drum all week for Macmillan at Sean’s Bakery, where she was holding Macmillan Coffee Mornings.

Unfortunately, there have not been enough Jenny’s to even come close to the sign-ups Coffee Morning used to attract pre-pandemic, which does not bode well for people living with cancer, who need Macmillan’s specialist cancer support services more than ever.

The charity estimates it could lose up to £40m worth of income in total after two years of lower sign-ups for Coffee Morning, putting around 200,000 people at risk of missing out on cancer care from the charity’s nurses.

Macmillan Cancer Support provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, and campaigns for better cancer care.