The phone call that changed a Norfolk cancer patient's life
50-year-old Laura from Norwich was initially only eligible for less than a £100 a week in sick pay support, due to recently changing jobs
Last updated 3rd May 2022
A Norfolk woman who was suddenly forced to live on just short of £100 a week- when under going chemotherapy- says who wouldn't know where she'd be without the financial and emotional support of Macmillan.
50-year-old Laura from Norwich was only eligible for the small amount of sick pay support because she'd been in her new job for a short time when she discovered she'd be needing treatment.
She told us about when Macmillan offered her just what she needed and helped her out in one of our darkest moments:
"When the news about the lack of support I'd be getting landed, I knew that I needed some help and for somebody to tell me what I can do. My second doorway into Macmillan was the telephone line and they were very helpful and very knowledgeable. It wasn't one of those where it was like, I will get somebody to ring you, here's a number or an email, it was just speaking to somebody who had that knowledge there and then".
"She said we can offer you a one-off grant. I said thank you very much, but I can't pay it back. Then when she told me that was what it was for, I was in tears, because knowing that that money was coming to me, that I don't have to pay back, is going to help me just that bit more until every else comes in. It was a godsend".
Laura told us the the charity's support went beyond the grant they gave her, as well:
"They're still there for me afterwards and you need that. So that's another support of MacMillan, so all the money that's being raised in there going to other people as well, is just fantastic".
She's now looking to walk nearly 30 miles along the Norfolk Coast to give back to the charity:
"First of all it was to raise awareness, I really wanted to get that out there because they say that one in two people have a diagnosis of cancer. I started doing a few things and then the money came in and then people start talking to you, then you open up more and more about Macmillan. So, we're hoping to raise £1,000".