WHEN Janet Filkin was diagnosed with cancer, she needed somewhere to go to pour out her worries and fears.

She didn't want to cry at home because she felt her family were "upset enough".

Janet found what she was looking for when she walked through the doors of the Lymes Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Centre based in the central outpatients' department at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

"I was quite weak and breathless, it was a bit emotional," she recalled. "I went in, shut the door, and had a good cry."

Janet, aged 74, from Eaton Park, has been back to the Lymes a number of times since that day in 2003. But after recovering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, she just drops in to say hello and to catch up.

She said: "It's a fantastic place. I first heard about it through one of the nurses. When you find out you've got cancer, you don't know where to go for information.

"You need to know what they're going to do to you and the kinds of treatments and procedures there are. At the Lymes they have a computer where you can print off information about your type of cancer. They gave me a video to show me what would happen when I had radium treatment.

"They also have meetings where you can get together with other people. But I'm not a 'getting-together' person."

Janet's journey through cancer began when she started to notice a few pains and cramps under her breast area. A battery of scans and tests followed.

Then she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer of the lymphatic system. Doctors told her she may have only five years to live. But seven years on, life is very different for the retired sales rep. Janet needs only annual check-ups and her last came back clear.

"I'm here, I'm safe, and I'm all right," she said. "I'm a positive person – I never think the worst."

She now spends her time with husband Barry, whom she met 14 years ago after he placed a lonely hearts ad in The Sentinel. Both had lost their first spouses and they hit it off straight away.

Janet also keeps busy staying in touch with her four children and one step-child, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

For Barry, aged 70, the Lymes was also an important source of support. He said: "When we were at the hospital, we would go and see them. It helped us both to cope. They explained a lot to me."

The couple were motor-home fans and they would also take off on trips to try to get away from it all. Although they plan to be on holiday abroad when the world's biggest coffee morning takes place on September 24, Janet and Barry are keen to promote the cause.

Janet added: "Families should know about places like the Lymes. They should go and have a chat."

Macmillan Cancer Support offers a wide range of support, including nursing, counselling and financial help.