Spirit of Christmas Appeal

Spirit of Christmas Appeal

Will you help our counsellors support local families this Christmas?

We know there is never an easy time to cope with a cancer diagnosis, but for people whose lives have been devastated by cancer, Christmas can be unbearably hard. 

Last year we provided over 3,500 counselling sessions to people who needed our support. In 2020, we were only able to provide a reduced service throughout the pandemic, hosting counselling sessions via telephone and video call to people right across Northern Ireland. But the waiting list for this vital service is only getting longer

With your incredible generosity, we want to provide the best possible counselling for local people affected by cancer right into 2021. 

If you have 5 minutes spare today, I urge you to read Laura’s story and to consider donating a gift of £20 here, which could pay towards an hour of one to one counselling for someone living with cancer.

  • Counselling was the perfect safety valve quote Spirit of christmas
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    When you, or someone close to you, has cancer it’s normal to feel anxious, frightened and worried about the future. These feelings can be confusing and overwhelming and it can help to talk to someone who understands. Cancer Focus NI’s counselling service gives you time to talk one-to-one in a safe, non-judgmental environment about what is important to you.

    It’s a personal service that can help you adjust to a cancer diagnosis and move on with your life. Read more about who our service has helped and how below. 

  • Laura Killen Spirit of Christmas appeal
  • Mum of four, Laura Killen, was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago and found counselling to be her lifeline.

    She says her diagnosis affected her hardest mentally, but she struggled to find anyone to talk to about it all, until she found our counsellor Alison. Read more here. 

  • Donna Parkinson who benefited from Cancer Focus NI Counselling Spirit of Christmas
  • Donaghadee mum Donna Parkinson has said that she found the Cancer Focus Northern Ireland counselling service invaluable after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just before lockdown.

    Donna said that having cancer during COVID brought a whole extra layer of stresses including having her surgery delayed. Read more here.

     

  • Kathy Farrell who benefited from Cancer Focus NI Counselling Spirit of Christmas
  • Mum Kathy Farrell was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 34 and used the Cancer Focus NI counselling service, which she says is a real lifeline.  

    When Kathy ‘hit a brick wall’ her GP advised her to talk to someone and try and make some sense of everything. That’s when she was introduced to a counsellor at Cancer Focus NI.  Read more here.