'It's not all doom and gloom'

GILL Hendry is the first specialist brain cancer nurse on Teesside, a demanding role, but one which she obviously loves. As we sit in the coffee shop of the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, where Gill has worked as a Macmillan Neuro-Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist since 2001, she chats to two patients as if they're old friends.

"It's just something I always wanted to do," she says. "I did ward training on a radiotherapy ward where the sister was inspirational and from that moment on, I wanted to help people with cancer. It's what I'm comfortable with.

"I worked as a hospital Macmillan nurse for nine years before this, covering every sort of cancer but in this role, I specialise in just one cancer and have the time to get to know my patients and their families very well and that's a real privilege."

Gill's patients have all been diagnosed with brain tumours, a rare type of cancer which accounts for just two per cent of all cancers.

"It is a very challenging area of medicine but it's not all doom and gloom," she says. "There is such a lot we can do to help people diagnosed with brain cancers and their families and carers. People who are newly diagnosed are often very frightened and need a lot of support. They hear the word cancer and think it's a death sentence, but it's not - it's just a word."

Gill admits the job can be draining at times, but she developed coping mechanisms very early on. "It can be tiring but I try not to take my work home or I think I would burn out," she says. I'm lucky to work in a very supportive team and that helps us all."

Gill liaises with a whole range of healthcare professionals involved in a person's care, including speech and language therapists, district nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, neurosurgeons and radiographers to make sure her patients get the all the care, support and information they need.

She also keeps in touch with GPs to make sure they have all the information they need to care for patients when they go back home, helps patients in financial difficulties because of their illness apply for grants from Macmillan, and runs a support group for people with brain cancer.

Patients can ring her at any time to ask for support and advice.

"Or sometimes they just want to chat," she says, "and that's fine with me."

For three years, Gill's post is funded by Macmillan Cancer Relief through money raised by the Teesside Appeal, after which the NHS Trust takes over funding, although Gill will always be a Macmillan nurse.

There are nearly 3,000 Macmillan nurses, doctors and other health care professionals across the country and Macmillan also funds buildings for treatment and care, provides information through centres, a telephone helpline and a website, and gives nearly £5m in patient grants.

To continue providing practical and emotional help for people affected by cancer and their families, Macmillan needs on-going support from the individuals, companies and organisations. Teesside Community fund raiser Steph Wood says: "We are currently raising money on Teesside to fund Gill's role, for patient grants and for a GP education programme. We are desperate for volunteers to start up fund raising groups all across the North-East, but especially in the Teesside area, to help organise fund raising events and collections."

* Anyone interested supporting the charity should contact Steph on (01325) 370870.