A day in the life of a Macmillan Children’s Cancer Nurse

In December 2018, we announced that Macmillan Cancer Support were selected by Pavers employees as one of the two chosen charities of the year for the Pavers Foundation.
As such, a staggering £62,500 has been donated to support its work. We were overjoyed to hear that this donation has the possibility to fund a local Macmillan nurse for one year, providing invaluable support to around 30 children with cancer and giving further support to families directly affected by this.
 
Meet Carole.
Carole is one of Macmillan's Children's Cancer Outreach Nurse Specialist

Carole is one of Macmillan's Children's Cancer Outreach Nurse Specialist

Carole is one of Macmillan’s 4,555 Cancer Nurses, a specialist nurse for children with cancer.
 
Here is her story ...
 
“What I do now is my dream job and I have spent most of my nursing career heading towards this role.
 
I work in a team of nine. This includes seven nurses, a play specialist and a cancer care coordinator. We are based at the Leeds General Infirmary, but our patch goes from Hull, up to Scarborough, across the North Yorkshire Moors, over Airedale, Calderdale, Leeds and Wakefield.
In the UK, around 1,600 children a year will be diagnosed with cancer.
Across Yorkshire, we care for around 120 newly diagnosed children each year and also provide palliative care to around 20 children and their families.
 
As you can imagine, a cancer diagnosis has a huge impact on the patient and their family. It’s a very worrying time and they need someone to help and listen.
 
Our role as a specialist nurse is to be there right from the point of diagnosis, where we help explain and co-ordinate their treatment. We support them through their return to school or nursery, provide information and support to their siblings and extended family and we are there right up until the end of treatment. We also provide palliative care and ongoing bereavement support to families when needed.
 
Every day is different.
 
In the last week I have attended an end of treatment meeting with one family, met with a bereaved mum, helped explain treatment to a new family (whilst being hit with a yoyo), visited a school, I’ve been on call for palliative care, and explained to siblings that their sister won’t be getting any better.
 
One of my parents recently said to me:
 
“Your help has made the path we have been on a lot smoother. We still have a long way to go but it is much less daunting knowing you are there to support us.”
 
I love my job. At times it is heartbreaking, but to know that I can make the experience for my families a little easier is my reason for going to work each morning.”
 
This donation to Macmillan Cancer Support would not have been achieved without the valuable support of our colleagues at Pavers, whose vote has played an important role within the Macmillan’ story and the lives of hundreds in communities across the country directly affected by cancer.