Sandy Heward from Ringwood was diagnosed with breast  cancer in 2008. But it was when her treatment at Royal Bournemouth Hospital finished that she found things difficult. She explains;

Feeling isolated

“After  all the treatment  had finished, I felt elated at first but then very  quickly   started feeling down. After a whole year of treatment, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery,  there  was suddenly  no one telling me what to do and I felt very alone, not knowing what to do next. My Macmillan breast cancer nurse  at Royal  Bournemouth Hospital knew   I  was   going downhill,  and suggested  an exercise referral scheme.”

Help is at hand

 

“The exercise programme changed  my life I have never felt more healthy or fit. Without my Macmillan Nurse pushing me I would have just sat here and wallowed  in my  own misery. The exercise scheme referral was the turning point in my life - not only have I beaten cancer but I have never felt so well and been fitter. That's all thanks  to Geraldine,  without her realising  I was down and floundering and didn't know what to do with myself I would never feel so great now.

“My Mac Nurse helped me turn my life around and now I would like to do what I can to help.”

“I am  still exercising  and feeling  good. My  Mac Nurse helped me turn my life around and now I would like to do what I can to help - that's why I hold a coffee morning every year which I thoroughly enjoy doing and people come from all over Ringwood.

 

“It was  great  to meet  other people who had been through the same as me – throughout  a year of treatment I’d not met anyone else with breast cancer.
3 years on I still attend exercise classes and go walking 3 times per week – I’m feeling  great. Being physically  active  after treatment for breast cancer transformed my life.”

Cancer is one of the toughest things any of us can face, and the Macmillan team in Dorset is here to help people affected by cancer every step of the way.

If you have money worries as a result of cancer, then call the Macmillan Poole and Bournemouth  Welfare
Benefits Advice Service on 01202 670 716

For more about Macmillan and the services we offer, call the Macmillan Support Line free
on 0808 808 00 00