This week we welcomed the mayors of all three of our boroughs, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and Redbridge to Queen’s Hospital to see the positive impact Macmillan’s support has had on our hospitals, and the benefits for our cancer patients.

The mayors were shown around areas within our Oncology and Radiotherapy departments, including our Halcyon radiotherapy machine and Dennis’ Den, a room dedicated for terminally ill patients to spend quality time with their loved ones. They also heard from our Enhanced Supportive Care team, Living with and Beyond Cancer team and the Specialist Palliative Care team.

Our partnership with Macmillan means we are able to offer specialist support to our patients undergoing medical treatment for cancer. This year they have provided us with funding for a personalised cancer care nurse and support worker, who conduct needs assessments and run health and wellbeing events to support our cancer patients. These roles are vital in for our patients, their families, and our staff.

The Mayor of Barking and Dagenham, Mayor Choudhury, was particularly interested to hear about our partnership, as he has chosen to support Macmillan this year, selecting it as one of his two charities to fundraise for.

Paul Lyons, Relationship Fundraising Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “I would like to say a very special thanks to Mayor Choudhury for choosing Macmillan. Fundraising is what makes our work possible to support people with cancer.”

Mayor Trevor McKeever from Havering, said: “Lots of people have personal experiences with families and friends with cancer visiting hospitals, so it is great to be able to see the partnership between the NHS and Macmillan to best support these patients.”