Here’s the latest from our EPOC Volunteers, Lorraine, Sue and Ron:
“This month, we had a visit from Fran Sharp from MacMillan, who came to give us a bunch of the new MacMillan leaflets with all the up-to-date contact details. These leaflets are also useful for carers who need support. Very useful information, as it can also be used for those who need support from MacMillan.
We were very busy all through our 3 hours, and spoke to 179 people in all.
- A lady told us about her son who had passed away after developing bowel cancer. He kept putting off going to the doctor, and by the time he went, it was too late.
- A couple stopped to look at the information; the husband was being treated for prostate cancer, but is very positive.
- A young lady stopped and asked us if we had any information on bowel cancer, as a friend had just been diagnosed. She took away all the information we had available.
- When we asked the young women if they had their smear tests, they all said ‘Yes’, but when we asked if they knew what the test was for, the younger ones all said ‘No’. They were each given the information on the tests (the facts and the meaning of results), as well as the information on cervical cancer.
- One lady who stopped was a mental health nurse – she took a selection of leaflets to display at the place where she worked.
- A lady stopped to say that the friend she was shopping with had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, and she was very grateful for one of the new MacMillan contact details leaflets to give to her friend. She also took one of our Check it Out leaflets for herself.
- Just before we packed up, a member of Tesco staff, asked if they could take some leaflets for their staff room. We collected a selection of them to leave there.”
