I have spoken many times about the incredible medical team that looks after me. It consists of so many amazing people, but I wanted to write specifically about one group of people who are so integral in the supporting patients through their cancer journey: the nurses. As a patient, you end up meeting so many nurses: at chemotherapy, during inpatient admissions or at outpatient clinic appointments. Every nurse that I have met at the Royal Marsden has left a mark on me – and I don’t just mean at the site of my cannula! So to try and explain more, I’ve written about my experience of nurses from when I was diagnosed, throughout my chemotherapy and surgery and as I continue on with my treatment. 

 Diagnosis

On the 3rd June 2016, I entered the Royal Marsden for the first time clutching the hand of an A&E nurse who had decided to travel with me from Barnet hospital. She had made the journey with me because she saw how distressed and overwhelmed I was. When we arrived, I was met by an extremely caring nurse who did everything she could to make me feel calm whist I waited for the consultant to arrive. I always remembered her and how much she tried to put me at ease. Months later, on the 7th November, I was having my final chemotherapy session which had overrun as I needed a blood transfusion. The chemo ward was closing and so I was moved to a general inpatient ward to finish treatment. Unbeknown to her or me, she was my nurse that evening! It was such an emotional reunion; I was able to update her on how my treatment had gone and tell her that I had succeeded in kicking ‘Cyril’ out of the boxing ring! This nurse put my first Marsden cannula in, and it seemed quite fitting that she took the cannula out from my final chemo session (shown in the photo below).

 Chemotherapy and day treatment unit nurses 

I had eighteen sessions of chemotherapy and it did not take long for me to get to know all the amazing nurses on the chemo ward. They are always smiling, eager to know all about the things that you have been doing between sessions and always there to comfort you. They make you feel like a person and not just a cancer patient. The care they give you is nothing short of incredible.  For me, I always remember the small things: how they would take time to prep my hair for the scalp cooling, explain complicated medical things in a way that makes sense (even after I had asked them the same question numerous times!), make sure you are comfortable, warm enough, cool enough, hydrated and not hungry. They’re also always ready to have a laugh with you. I can think back to so many funny times when I had my pre-meds which would make me feel slightly drunk or make me wriggle in the chair because one of the pre-meds causes an itchy bottom! I still have my treatment every three weeks on the ward so still get to be looked after by this wonderful nursing team.

 Inpatient ward nurses 

I also met many different nurses when I was admitted to hospital for my surgery.  I clearly remember the nurse who looked after me in the surgical admissions unit. He was amazing at keeping me calm when I was possibly the least calm I’ve ever felt. I obviously never met the nurses who assisted my operation, but I know from reading and talking with my consultant what an important role they have in theatre. Throughout my stay in Critical Care I was cared for so well. I remember waking up on the unit after surgery and knowing that I would be ok when I heard my nurse’s calming voice. Every nurse I met in this unit made me feel incredibly safe in the initial post operation period, which can seem really frightening at times. Again it was the small things: helping me to keep clean, doing my hair (without a hairband…one nurse managed to fashion a hairband out of the top of a surgical glove!), making sure I was comfortable with pillows, helping me to slowly start drinking fluids and just holding my hand and encouraging me when I was in pain.

 When I moved of the unit on the general ward the nurses were also brilliant. Each stage of your recovery requires something different and they seem to know just what you need to get you through it. The ward nurses were reassuring but also very encouraging; if they thought I could do something on my own they would help me to do it rather than do it for me. They helped me have a shower for the first time and were so encouraging with my rehab. After surgery one of the goals on the ward is to be able to get your catheter removed as soon as possible and use the bathroom instead. This obviously involves walking, which after surgery, is much harder than you can ever imagine. My nurse would keep encouraging me to walk just that little bit more each day because she knew I could get to the point of having it removed…which felt like such a big milestone. I also was so grateful to be able to talk to the nurses – they have so much experience that I always felt like they understood what it was like when I feeling low or having a bad day.

Clinical Nurse Specialist 

 At the Royal Marsden you are also assigned a clinical specialist nurse who is there to support you throughout your journey. I met my nurse on my first night in the Royal Marsden back in June, and I know that she is always there when I need her. After my operation it was so helpful to talk through all of the possible symptoms of menopause with her, some of which I had never even considered before then. After having this conversation, I remember feeling a lot calmer about menopause because I knew what to expect. It’s also reassuring to know that there is someone on the end of a phone or email who you can contact with a question or worry. 

 So there’s a brief look at how the nurses at the Royal Marsden who have been, and continue to be, such an important part of my journey. They hold a very special place in my heart. As a patient, I’ve found that you never forget what the nurses say, what they do and how they make you feel. I would like to take this opportunity to thank, not just nurses that I have come in contact with, but to nurses in general. 

You may have started reading this blog and wondered about the title. When I was reading up on the role of nurses I came across the idea and it just seemed to completely fit with my experience of them. ‘Angel’ is one of the best ways to describe nurses. And the comfortable shoes…well if you’ve got to the end of this you will hopefully understand just how much nurses do in a day – even angels would get sore feet.