Wessex Cancer Alliance and Macmillan Cancer Support are delighted to be celebrating 10 years since the first cancer support worker was recruited in Wessex. The Cancer Support Worker role has developed so much over the last decade and is now embedded in each hospital Trust across Wessex, with over 60 CSW’s in our Alliance. We want to say an enormous thank you to all the cancer support workers who are supporting cancer patients every day, in our hospitals and the community.

Marion Rood was the first CSW to work in Wessex back in 2012 and she is now Lead Support Worker, providing guidance and training to new support workers in cancer care. Marion tells us that the hospital wasn’t really sure what to do when she first arrived but she quickly settled in and began offering breast cancer patients, support with all the many aspects of their cancer journey; since then Marion has developed the role and worked with numerous teams, to establish learning modules, development plans and health and wellbeing sessions for cancer patients.

“I was really fortunate enough to be one of the first cancer support workers in the country.” Marion tells us.

The role of the Cancer Support Worker is extremely varied and is led by the needs of each patient, family member, carer of friend. They can provide emotional support, financial advice, information on housing and employment as well as simply being there to talk to during Chemotherapy sessions. There are also many administrative roles that they support and they work within the team of Clinical Nurse Specialists, supporting them and liaising with other departments involved in the patient’s care. It is an invaluable role that has transformed the quality of care offered to cancer patients.

On this anniversary, we have spoken to a number of Cancer Support Workers and their colleagues and below are some videos and testimonials to mark our celebrations.