The CancerBACUP London Counselling Service offered short-term face-to-face counselling to self-referred cancer patients and their relatives and friends, provided by experienced supervised counsellors working within a humanistic theoretical framework. This study aimed to identify its clients' characteristics, use of the service, extent of perceived benefits and satisfaction with the service. Socio-demographic data were collected in Data Sheets from all 384 clients who booked an appointment over 18 months; they were predominantly female,