Volunteers at east London cancer information centre star in cancer charity video

The centre – which provides a support service for patients affected by cancer, their relatives and friends – was chosen from more than 100 centres nationally to feature in the video.

The be.Macmillan website provides healthcare professionals with up-to-date and reliable printed and audio information on cancer for use with their patients. Information can be ordered directly from the site and delivered within a couple of days.

The video features interviews with manager, Perpetua Egan and head and neck cancer specialist, Denise Redmond, as well as volunteers including John Sandell.

Perpetua Egan, Manager at the Barts Health Macmillan cancer information and support centre, said: “It’s testament to the centre’s strong reputation with Macmillan, our patients and their families that we were chosen to appear in the video. We were delighted to help our colleagues make their website as effective as possible by showing how critical it is to the service we provide.”

Trained counsellor Perpetua and five volunteers see over 1,600 people a year at the Whipps Cross centre. They offer a place people can drop into, where they can share their concerns, get advice and up-to-date information on all types of cancer, and receive emotional and psychological support via their one-to-one service.

People can also get clinical advice from a cancer specialist and access financial support by speaking to on-site advisors, as well as be signposted to other services in their local community.

Now four years old, the Whipps Cross centre is one of three across Barts Health NHS Trust - with additional centres at St Bartholomew’s and Newham hospitals, as well as a fourth planned to open at The Royal London Hospital in the future. All rely on the dedication of volunteers to keep them running.

For further information about becoming a Macmillan volunteer, contact Anusha Pasula on 020 7363 8758 or Perpetua Egan on 020 8535 6790.