LAUNCH OF MARIE CURIE APPEAL WITH ACTOR STEPHEN MANGAN

I was delighted to join forces with actor Stephen Mangan and Marie Curie Rapid Response Healthcare Assistant Patricia McDonnell last week to help Marie Curie UK

Marie Curie provide care and support to people living with a terminal illness.

This year's Appeal was launched at a parliamentary event to celebrate the launch of the Great Daffodil Appeal, Marie Curie’s biggest annual fundraising campaign, held every March.

I pledged my support to the Appeal and would encourage everyone to donate and wear one of the charity’s daffodil pins to help fund vital care and support for people living with a terminal illness, and their families.

Every five minutes, someone in the UK dies without getting the care and support they need at the end of their life. The money raised from the Appeal will help Marie Curie be there for more people living with any terminal illness such as terminal cancer, dementia, heart failure, and motor neurone disease.

Launched in 1986, the Appeal is crucial in raising much-needed funds to enable the charity to continue to provide nursing and hospice care, fund research and campaign on behalf of everyone affected by terminal illness.

The charity's free national Support Line now also offers clinical support, enabling anyone with a terminal illness to access a Marie Curie Nurse. The Information and Support Nurses can answer any clinical questions or concerns people may have, from understanding a diagnosis to explaining treatments, or talking about painful and distressing symptoms.

The chances are, we all know someone who’s been affected by a terminal illness.

Whether its worn in celebration, in solidarity or in memory of a loved one, by donating and wearing a daffodil pin during March, we can all help make sure thousands more dying people get the care and support they deserve."

To find out more about the Great Daffodil Appeal, visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil. Share your memory using #everydaffodil. To Donate £5 to Marie Curie, text DAFF to 70111.

The Information and Support Nurses can be accessed through the Support Line on; 0800 090 2309 from Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm.*

Visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil or call 0800 304 7025 for more information.