After 13 years of partnership and over £20 million raised to support those living with cancer, Boots is working  together with the team at Macmillan Cancer Support to showcase the incredible work of Macmillan nurses to support patients on their cancer journey. Boots is proud to announce that it has funded the work of one nurse for 12 months.

Supporting Macmillan nurses

Macmillan provide a wide range of services that support people living with cancer: emotionally, practically, financially and beyond. Central to the incredible work that Macmillan do are their nurses, who provide vital support to both those who are diagnosed with cancer and their families.

In the UK alone, there are around 12,000 Macmillan nurses, doctors and other health and social care professionals that work across the NHS, local authorities and other charities. They are specialists who don’t just treat the cancer, but the whole person. This includes everything from listening, delivering the right care, practical support and offering emotional strength to cancer patients and their loved ones.

Stephen is a Macmillan nurse who specialises in palliative care: “Working as a palliative clinical specialist is the job I love. I can’t imagine doing anything else. 

“Personally, I think that you being there with that patient at that time, just sitting next to them, talking to them – some people like to hold hands – is more valuable in terms of easing down anxiety and stress levels, and sometimes that can resolve pain.

“You are human at the end of the day, and you do see overwhelming suffering that the public never see, and most nurses and doctors never see. I think that is hard, but I’ve never lost that, actually, you are there helping care for that person at that time, who’s really vulnerable. That support that you can give to that person is what they need and what they deserve.

“Obviously, I would hope that someone, one day would do the same thing for me if I ever needed it.”