It’s Monday morning, and a group of friends are sitting around a table chatting, drinking tea and painting.

There are smiles and lots of laughter as the group swaps tales of their week, compares aches and pains and bonds over the life-threatening illness with which they are all living.

The Macmillan Unit is an inpatient ward and day centre situated at Christchurch Hospital and is part of the specialist palliative care service at The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Care services are funded by the NHS, but a significant proportion of the funding comes from Macmillan Caring Locally, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

The charity will provide more than £1million to support the service provision for 2014/15 thanks to the generosity of the local community, which will fund a Family Support Team, Rehabilitation Team, day centre and a team of Community Specialist Palliative Care Sisters (sometimes referred to as Macmillan Nurses).

The charity also funds many other projects at the Macmillan Unit including the training of the volunteer group, new equipment and the maintenance of the garden.

“It’s lovely,” says Gillian Turner, 76, who visits the Macmillan Unit day centre every Monday and is enjoying a foot massage and a glass of Baileys as she chats to me.

“I do painting and lots of arts and crafts and things. I can relax here and you know if you’ve got any problems there’s someone here to talk to who understands.

“A lot of people who have never been to a hospice don’t understand it. I have a dread of going to hospital, but I don’t dread it if I come here, it’s fantastic, it’s like a little community.”

The centre is run by a day centre leader, whose role is to review those patients who are having any symptom control issues and to liaise with the GP and district nurses, as well as give emotional support to both the patients and the volunteers.

A range of free activities are organised for those who wish to take part, including ceramic painting, arts and crafts and even massages and aromatherapy.

“It’s nice if they can do something, but they enjoy just sitting and chatting with somebody as well,” explains activities leader Lyn New.

“They really do build up good friendships with everyone. They speak freely about their cancers around the table, but it’s a really happy place – there’s no doom and gloom.”

Volunteer Sue Chappell, who has been helping at the Macmillan Unit for the last six years, describes the centre as “joyous”.

“It’s a family here,” she explains.

“They’re not patients – they’re friends.”

Sue began volunteering after losing her father to cancer, and said she gets far more out of helping out than she could ever put in.

“As volunteers we are quite hands on. I love it, it’s absolutely fantastic here. Money can’t buy it.”

For Carolyn Hobbs, 67, who has been visiting once a week for the last few months, coming to the Macmillan Unit has made her realise she can do things she never thought she could.

“It’s really nice because I hadn’t done any painting or craftwork since I left school”, she explains.

“With my friends in everyday life, I’m the odd one out because I’m the one with cancer, but when I come here I fit in because I’m not unusual. It makes you feel at home.

“It’s not miserable by any means, it’s quite jolly. I’ve been very glad that I came here.”

Joel Froggatt, 75, has been visiting the unit twice a week since before Christmas, and admits to painting more than 50 ceramics.

“You get good banter here,” he says.

“It’s wonderful.”

The running of the Macmillan Unit would simply not be possible without the support of the local community, something for which trust secretary for Macmillan Caring Locally Neal Williams is eternally grateful.

“We are very proud that the Macmillan Unit is a Centre of Excellence, a standard achieved due to the dedication of our team of professionals and volunteers,” he says.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our supporters for their generosity over the last 40 years.

“Their donations and legacies have made it possible for us to provide the best possible care for people in our community who really need our support.”

Charity grew out of a wish to help

Macmillan Caring Locally, formerly The Macmillan Cancer Trust, was formed in 1974 and evolved from the fundraising committee for the building of the Macmillan Unit at Christchurch Hospital, the first of its kind in the country.

Although the charity has the Macmillan name, it is not connected in any way to the national charity Macmillan Cancer Support. Macmillan Caring Locally is a local, independent charity supporting patients in South East Dorset and South West Hampshire.

The aims of the charity are to support those who are suffering from cancer and other life threatening illnesses where no cure is expected, and to provide help and support for the whole family.

The name Macmillan was taken from Douglas Macmillan, who founded the Society for the Prevention and Relief of Cancer in 1912, a year after losing his father to the disease.

His dream was to see homes for cancer patients across the country where free or low-cost care would be provided.

Macmillan Caring Locally also funds a family support team, to provide emotional support to patients and carers both pre and post bereavement.

The team works with the unit and does home visits if necessary, as well as running a carers’ group and bereavement group.

Hilary Dobson, a member of the team, explained: “Having a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness brings up all sorts of different emotions for people, so just having someone they can talk to and someone who’s neutral, outside the family, is really useful.

“It’s someone who can hopefully provide that little bit of support to people at a very difficult time. Often it’s knowing there’s someone there. We often have people saying just knowing we are there is a real help.”

To find out more about Macmillan Caring Locally, and how you can donate, visit macmillanlocal.org