Cancer Care Nurse Honnie

31/Aug/2021     Health

Meet Honnie, a Registered Nurse from the Cancer Care Centre at Mater Private Hospital Redland who shares with us what she loves about nursing, why cancer care is so special and why she chose this amazing career. 

She previously spent seven years working as a Clinical Nurse in the 8 North East Oncology Ward of Mater Private Hospital in South Brisbane before moving out to Redland where she has been working for the past two years since the Cancer Care Centre opened.  

Honnie explains her reasoning for working in cancer care was very personal after watching her grandmother battle bowel cancer.

“She received palliative care in Caloundra Hospital, and I thought the way the nursing staff treated her was beautiful, it was a very dignified passing and I wanted to be able to help people those incredibly difficult periods of their lives,” Honnie said.

“Being a patient in the Cancer Care Centre can initially be very frightening but we do everything we can to be there for our patients and help them through this experience, we become part of their lives and many of them see us as friends.

“Because we are such a small centre, we get to know our patients really well and are able to form a special bond with them while providing an excellent continuum of care. It’s a unique offering you don’t find in many other places.”

Honnie explains it’s the team who work in the Cancer Care Centre who make it such a special place for the patients and their families.  

“We try to make the centre as normal a place as possible to make our patients feel comfortable, we laugh a lot in here, it’s not a sombre place at all. The staff go above and beyond the treat the patients with dignity and compassion,” Honnie said.

“I feel as if the nursing staff really embody the Mater Mission and Values, working at Mater has a very different feel to other hospitals. I feel as if the Sister’s of Mercy have handed down an incredible legacy which we work had to continue.

“I would really recommend the Cancer Care Centre at Redland to anyone in the community who needed treatment, you don’t need to travel too far, and you can be in and out on with the rest of your day.”

Honnie said she loves being part of the team at Redland and said Cancer Care isn’t for everyone, it takes a special person to do this role, but the team and the patients make it all worthwhile.

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