The Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) 2018-01-12 Person 4 5 0

This was my fourth cycle of chemotherapy in the Medical Day Unit and each time I go, I am grateful that I am being treated by The Marsden. This appointment was the first time my portacath was going to be accessed to administer chemotherapy. I am not good about needles, especially in new parts of my body, and by the time I arrived I was pretty anxious. Susan (staff nurse) and Lissa (sister) were phenomenal. They could not have been more patient, kind, skilled and supportive. It took two attempts, but their utter professionalism and understanding made it possible. What they did for an anxious woman, at the end of their busy day, was transformative and made a process that is tough, so much better. 'Thank you' seems insufficient. I would like to be able to offer constructive suggestions for improvement, but I really don't have any. Everyone whom I have met along the way has been exemplary - from the Receptionists who welcome me to the hostesses offering refreshments to the wonderful nurse learning about IV access who held my hand a few weeks ago during cannula insertion in my arm to the cleaners who make sure every patient sits in a clean and welcoming environment and, of course, to all the nurses who have managed to administer treatment through arms and now a port despite my obvious anxiety. This is a special team and they deserve every inch of recognition for the difference they make, individually and collectively.