Stories of support from Macmillan nurses

"My nurse Kay kept me and my family close company when I was preparing for my radical cystectomy. But not long before my operation date, it was cancelled because they found a clot in my lung so the team wanted to treat me to thin my blood.

"Between Christmas and New Year, Kay worked hard with others in the team to arrange several tests to see if the treatment had worked while supporting us by phone throughout.

"Meanwhile the tumour was still growing. In every interdisciplinary meeting, Kay helped move my case forward and they operated successfully only 2 weeks after the original date.

"Then while I was in hospital, Kay continued to support me and gave me advice on managing life with a stoma. Even last year, she helped sort out a regular review that hadn't been scheduled.

"I cannot thank her enough for everything that she has done, and I am sure other patients would agree wholeheartedly."

- Latestart, an Online Community member

“I was on a few weeks holiday in February 2021 when I realised something wasn’t right. I got a pain down below which lasted an hour, I contacted 111 and they advised to get an appointment at the doctors.

“I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and it came as a shock to my whole family. It hit us hard as we have never had to deal with something like this before.

“After an operation, I was transferred to another hospital to be managed. The transition from the two hospital seemed to take so long I felt like I had been forgotten about. I contacted my Macmillan nurse, and she took it on herself to become my link person. She rang me everyday with an update until 4 days later she managed to get me an appointment.”

- Daniel, diagnosed with testicular cancer

"Macmillan were incredible in the way they supported my dad and our family. Macmillan nurses came to the house to give him medication, they helped him with financial and legal advice, they arranged for an adjustable chair, a hospital bed and a stair lift to be brought to his house so he could be as comfortable as he struggled with energy and mobility.

"Macmillan gave my dad a sense of purpose in the darkest of times. He looked forward to their visits and they were so important to him. They were available on the end of the phone if he or the family needed any advice. They were a real ray of light in the worst time of our lives. Up until then I didn’t realise how much Macmillan did or how they just come to your home, and nothing is too much trouble."

- Jemma, whose dad was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer