Macmillan supporters in Leeds have helped pay for a
new specialist nurse in the city for patients with secondary breast cancer.
The North Leeds Macmillan Committee raised £25,000
when they took part in last year’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning and pledged
the money to help fund this new post.
Mary Hall is the new Macmillan Metastatic Breast
Clinical Nurse Specialist based at St James’s. Her role has been formed in
response to a growing need. Recent figures show the breast cancer team at Leeds
Teaching Hospitals sees about 4,000 patients a year. The majority of patients
do not get breast cancer again but for about two in ten patients, breast cancer
spreads to other parts of the body - this is known as metastatic, or secondary,
breast cancer.
%2Bwith%2BBelinda%2BArcher%2Bcopy.jpg) |
| Mary Hall, left, with Belinda Archer, Macmillan Macmillan Breast Care Clinical Nurse Specialist |
Mary said: “More people are surviving cancer and are
able to live with secondary breast cancer for longer so there’s a real need for
specialist support. The role means patients and their families have access to a
dedicated specialist nurse who can provide information and co-ordinate care. As
the role progresses, it will help establish a new model of care for patients
with secondary cancer. As part of a fantastic breast cancer team at Leeds, I’m
delighted to be doing such a rewarding role.”
Mary’s role has been funded by Macmillan Cancer Support and provided in partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The North Leeds Macmillan Committee was formed in 1996
by Macmillan Silver Long Service award holder Rosalind Bickler after a close
friend died from cancer.
Over the past eighteen years the committee has evolved
and in 2000 Jennifer Schiller joined Mrs Bickler and together they established
a formula for successful fundraising including the creation of a database of
1,500 potential donors.
Since forming, the committee has collected in excess
of £250,000 and this year will be raising funds for a Macmillan care
co-coordinator dealing with cancers of the pancreas, bile ducts and liver. The
coffee morning will take place on Sunday, September 21, 2014.
Mrs Bickler said: "We realise only too well how
important it is for us to be there for Macmillan to help people with cancer and
their families."
 |
Mary Hall, far left, and
colleagues from the breast cancer team meet members of the North Leeds Macmillan Committee and Francine Tyler,
Macmillan area fundraising manager, front left.
|
To
help more people living with cancer, Macmillan relies on public donations. To
find out ways you can give, call Clara White, Macmillan fundraising manager in
Leeds, on 07809 554960 or email cwhite@macmillan.org.uk
-Ends-
About
World’s Biggest Coffee Morning
The World's Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer
Support's biggest charity fundraising event. We ask people across the UK - and
sometimes further afield - to hold a coffee morning, where donations on the day
are made to Macmillan. In 2013 154,000 people signed up to coffee morning,
raising a record £20 million for the charity. Friday 26 September is the
official date of the World's Biggest Coffee Morning this year, but you're
welcome to choose a date that's more convenient for you. For more, visit macmillan.org.uk/coffee
About Macmillan Cancer
Support
More than one in three of us will get cancer. For most of us it
will be the toughest fight we ever face. And the feelings of isolation and
loneliness that so many people experience make it even harder. But you don’t
have to go through it alone. The Macmillan team is with you every step of the
way.
We are the nurses and therapists helping you through treatment.
The experts on the end of the phone. The advisers telling you which benefits
you’re entitled to. The volunteers giving you a hand with the everyday things.
The campaigners improving cancer care. The community there for you online, any
time. The supporters who make it all possible. Together, we are all Macmillan
Cancer Support. For cancer support every step
of the way call Macmillan on 0808 808 00 00 (Monday to Friday, 9am-8pm)
or visit macmillan.org.uk
