Hi everyone

Over my 4 year cancer journey ive met a few Mcmillan nurses and had both good and bad experiences.

There are two elements to this discussion, it sounds like some of the previous entries are commenting on the macmillan service, which is suffering just like other areas of health care, due to lack of nurses, more patient expectations, bigger service and sadly more patients.  A good macmillan nurse can be an asset to a family, however a poor macmillan service can leave a family/patient making difficult decisions without expert help which is wrong. As a nurse myself my advice would be to complain, YES complain, follow the complaints procedure which i would imagine the gp centre would have in your area. It is not right for us as patients to moan if we dont give the service the chance to put wrongs right. I know this does not always work and for those patients who are let down i understand their annoyance and frustration , however i would say again Keep Complaining.

The other problem is if an individual does not get on with thier allocated macmillan nurse. In my town we get a particular nurse depending on our postcode. As a38 year old when i was diagnosed my macmillan must have been mid 60s (no dis respect intended ) but we came from different generations. She is a lovely lady but just not the kind of support ineed. im very independent and strong willed and i need someone to tell me straight.I also find it annoying because most macmillan nurses cannot empathise with us, unless they have been in our position. i understand they can sympathise but thats different.

Nurses including macmillan need to understand that they will not always get on with all their patients, or bring out the best in them. it is not possible. when this happens though and its no ones fault, there is no get out clause, we are stuck with them.

what is the answer though!!    i dont know, because i now dont have a macmillan nurse despite been a palliative care patient at 41.  i kept saying over the phone that i was ok and i didnt need her for anything (in honesty i just didnt want her to come around ) and then i received a letter saying the service had discharged me. Do i want a macmllan nurse- YES.   Do i need a macmillan nurse- YES.   living with an incurable cancer is frightening and at times i just wanna pick up my phone and chat to a professional or invite her around for a brew....what did i do wrong ??

rad X X

Your message was strong and said a lot rad. You could get another referral but an alternative avenue is a support group

yes, as you say darker days, another referral or a support group would be an idea. sadly another referral would bring me the same macmillan nurse due to the way they allocate the service in my area (thats just the way it goes). I have considered support groups but decided against them, as i have been rejected from a support group because of the nature of my illness. I dont have a womans cancer, and my cancer support group as such is 50 miles away. I understand this but i suppose i chose then to give support groups a wide berth.

I only really use cancerchat as a source of support. everyone is welcome and the annoynimity allows people to be honest. I feel if i can help someone else then  i can learn from it.

Rad x x

yes, as you say darker days, another referral or a support group would be an idea. sadly another referral would bring me the same macmillan nurse due to the way they allocate the service in my area (thats just the way it goes). I have considered support groups but decided against them, as i have been rejected from a support group because of the nature of my illness. I dont have a womans cancer, and my cancer support group as such is 50 miles away. I understand this but i suppose i chose then to give support groups a wide berth.

I only really use cancerchat as a source of support. everyone is welcome and the annoynimity allows people to be honest. I feel if i can help someone else then  i can learn from it.

Rad x x