0:00:08 > 0:00:12Over 50,000 people a year are diagnosed with breast cancer.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16A few years ago, one of my oldest and best friends
0:00:16 > 0:00:18found out that she had breast cancer.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21I'm delighted to be able to tell you that with chemo and radiotherapy,
0:00:21 > 0:00:22she's absolutely fine now,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25but it was a grisly and a terrifying period,
0:00:25 > 0:00:28not just for her, but for her family and her friends too.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31She told me that about the nicest thing
0:00:31 > 0:00:33that had happened to her in that time
0:00:33 > 0:00:36was discovering this place, The Haven.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41This is one of The Haven charity's five centres across the country,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44offering one-to-one programmes of care and support to help
0:00:44 > 0:00:49the thousands of people with breast cancer regain their quality of life.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52That might mean anything from complementary therapies
0:00:52 > 0:00:54to exercise classes and counselling.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Over 1,000 people in the last year have benefited from their services.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Pat and her husband, Pete, were running their own business
0:01:07 > 0:01:10and living an active, outdoors life with their daughter,
0:01:10 > 0:01:11here in Shropshire.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16Until in October 2009, everything changed.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19I did actually feel a very, very small lump in my right breast.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23Pete said, "You know, you should really go and get it checked out."
0:01:23 > 0:01:25It wasn't until November, until I got to the doctor's,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28and she sent me straight to the hospital.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Pat was told she had breast cancer
0:01:32 > 0:01:36and would soon learn it had spread to her liver and spleen.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38She was given chemotherapy,
0:01:38 > 0:01:42a course of medicines to eliminate cancerous cells.
0:01:42 > 0:01:43But it knocked me for six.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46Unfortunately, I just could not stop being sick.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49But at the end of the six months...
0:01:49 > 0:01:51really, my cancer hadn't changed.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56On top of this, she later developed a blood clot on her leg
0:01:56 > 0:01:58and carpal tunnel syndrome,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01which gave her pain in her fingers and toes.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03And that's when I really got to my lowest
0:02:03 > 0:02:06because it just seemed that every day I woke up
0:02:06 > 0:02:07there was something else.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13There's nothing worse than seeing somebody who you love, um, suffer.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Just nothing that you, as a person, or I, as a husband or father,
0:02:18 > 0:02:23could do to take that pain away...
0:02:24 > 0:02:26HE EXHALES DEEPLY
0:02:27 > 0:02:30As Pat found out at that dark moment,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34cancer has a huge psychological as well as a physical impact.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38The Havens are here to help people through every aspect of cancer.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40Come on, Victoria.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Pete booked me into their open day and drove me down there.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49They said, "No, OK, I had six months of chemo..."
0:02:50 > 0:02:55"It hadn't gone, but it hadn't got worse," and I came out of there
0:02:55 > 0:02:59feeling positive for the first time in over six months.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Cos from that day...
0:03:04 > 0:03:07..they turned my life around.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14..Just tuning into the sensations in the body as we do so.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17The Havens offer therapies which help people
0:03:17 > 0:03:19cope with the debilitating effects of chemotherapy.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21..much more within ourselves.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24They also give advice on anything from diet to finances.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26And then, onto the other side, so firmly...
0:03:26 > 0:03:30It's the chance to focus not on the illness, but on life.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Does that really help you guys
0:03:32 > 0:03:35when you're being battered and bullied by doctors?
0:03:35 > 0:03:37- Yeah. - Because when you're in treatment
0:03:37 > 0:03:39or being diagnosed or anything,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41it's just a continuum - hospitals, appointment.
0:03:41 > 0:03:42Then, I mean, to come here,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44it really is, it's well named - The Haven.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47And it really is a life-saver, and I mean that.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49- Seriously.- I believe you.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55I've had lots of therapies. My favourite is acupuncture.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57It helps with the carpal tunnel syndrome.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01I've got two bad knees and I've had trouble walking.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02If I'm feeling bad, I go,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06and I just feel so, so much better when I come out of there.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10- And you couldn't, could you?- No...
0:04:10 > 0:04:11'Haven nurse Tina Glynn
0:04:11 > 0:04:15'helps people choose their programme of treatments.'
0:04:15 > 0:04:18We see people struggling with the emotional fallout
0:04:18 > 0:04:20of being diagnosed with cancer, side effects...
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Each of our centres is led by a nurse specialist
0:04:24 > 0:04:29and the therapists are not only experts in their own therapy,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32but are experts in helping people with a cancer diagnosis.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35But do they come in alone or do they come in with their families?
0:04:35 > 0:04:38- Um, I would say on the whole, alone...- Really?
0:04:38 > 0:04:40..but they can do, they can come in with families.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42Anyone affected who's struggling.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Pat's daughter Victoria has often visited The Haven with her mum.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Back when Pat was diagnosed, Victoria was only ten.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53The Haven has been incredible.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57The main thing that everyone always says is, "Just ask questions,"
0:04:57 > 0:04:59it's, like, don't be afraid to ask, and no question
0:04:59 > 0:05:02is a stupid question if it's worrying you or anything.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04You walk in and it's just so calm
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and it's done really incredible things for my mum
0:05:07 > 0:05:08and us as a family.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12As everyone here will tell you, a full course of treatments
0:05:12 > 0:05:15really helps to make them feel less like patients
0:05:15 > 0:05:17and more like people again.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19But that costs about £1,000 each
0:05:19 > 0:05:22and The Haven relies on donations for that.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27Jackie works at a thriving publishing company,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31but her life was thrown into turmoil when she was only 32.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34I discovered a lump on Christmas Eve
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and I got engaged to my partner of 13 years on Christmas Day.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40But sad to say that three weeks later,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42we weren't talking about guest lists and venues,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45we were talking about fertility preservation, chemotherapy,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48radiotherapy and mastectomy surgery.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52For Jackie, The Haven was about something beyond
0:05:52 > 0:05:54the medical treatment she was getting from the hospital.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59What The Haven are really quick to say, is that we're not here
0:05:59 > 0:06:03to replace the mastectomy surgery or the chemotherapy, or...
0:06:03 > 0:06:07They understand there is a way to kind of give you your life back
0:06:07 > 0:06:09to get your head right as well as your body.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13The Haven also reaches out to people using the internet
0:06:13 > 0:06:15and Jackie took part in
0:06:15 > 0:06:18an exercise video for the charity's website.
0:06:18 > 0:06:19It was a great opportunity to do
0:06:19 > 0:06:21something that we knew would be
0:06:21 > 0:06:22helpful to people who wouldn't
0:06:22 > 0:06:23be able to make it to a Haven.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26They could be anywhere in the world and they could still benefit
0:06:26 > 0:06:29from The Haven's wise guidance.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32With all the support around her, Jackie felt strong enough
0:06:32 > 0:06:36to take up running, even before her chemotherapy was complete.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39So, I'm training for the London Marathon.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43I did my first ever 10k a week before my last chemo with no hair,
0:06:43 > 0:06:48a PICC line in my arm and my acute oncology card in my back pocket.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Running really makes me feel alive.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52- Well done!- Whay!
0:06:52 > 0:06:53As for Pat,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57she and her family have also taken part in fundraising events.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02'We swam a mile in Lake Coniston, which was great fun.'
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Well done, amazing.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06We've done charity balls...
0:07:06 > 0:07:08The latest thing I did was a fashion show.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Pat managed all of this despite still having cancer.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19It has now spread to her bowel, lungs and stomach
0:07:19 > 0:07:22and she has a scan every few months to monitor it.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25It's not going to get any better, but hopefully,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27it won't get any worse.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29- PETE:- Aw! - PAT LAUGHS
0:07:29 > 0:07:33If we hadn't have found The Haven, I honestly do think that
0:07:33 > 0:07:37I would be in a wheelchair all the time
0:07:37 > 0:07:40and our quality of life wouldn't be as good.
0:07:40 > 0:07:41It definitely wouldn't be.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Cancer takes a lot. It took my right boob, it took my lymph nodes.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48It took my taste buds, it took my hair.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50The Haven gives you something back,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52it gives you a little piece of yourself back.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Every year, thousands of women receive medical treatment and care
0:08:01 > 0:08:04so that they can survive breast cancer.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08The Haven helps people rebuild their lives with extra support -
0:08:08 > 0:08:11and they really do, I've seen it first-hand.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13So, please, give what you can today and then
0:08:13 > 0:08:18they can help more people with breast cancer live life to the full.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20To donate, please go to the website...
0:08:24 > 0:08:25To give by phone, call...
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33You can also donate £10 by texting...
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Texts cost £10, plus your standard network message charge
0:08:40 > 0:08:42and the whole £10 goes to The Haven.
0:08:42 > 0:08:48Full terms and conditions can be found at bbc.co.uk/lifeline.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Or if you'd like to post a donation,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53please make your cheque payable to "The Haven" and send it to...
0:08:56 > 0:08:58..writing "Haven" on the back of the envelope.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01And if you want the charity to claim Gift Aid on your donation,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03please include an e-mail or postal address
0:09:03 > 0:09:06so that they can send you a Gift Aid form.
0:09:06 > 0:09:07Thank you.