Terminal cancer inspires Teesside nurse to help others

Michelle Milson said she wanted to leave "a little part of me" at the hospital where she works

A nurse with terminal bowel cancer is helping to create positive change for patients like her in the hospital where she worked.

Michelle Milson, from Middlesbrough, was diagnosed in February 2021 shortly after she graduated as a nurse.

Unable to continue nursing, the hospital gave her a new role as a practice development nurse, which she says "makes a difference to others".

Mrs Milson, 44, said: "I had to find a new direction to challenge me."

"When you're put in this situation you should always look to help other people.

"I never expected this at my age, but I'm an optimistic person and believe that your dreams can come true if you make them and you look for them.

"That brings a lot of satisfaction to me and my family.

"Nursing was all I ever wanted to do. I feel it's the skill that I've naturally been given and while I can't look after my patients clinically any more I can help, although they don't see me - I still see them."

Colleagues said Michelle had planned "every detail" of the homely end-of-life room at James Cook University Hospital

She has already helped create an end-of-life room at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and is now planning a memory garden for the courtyard.

Amanda Parry, ward manager, said Mrs Milson had put her "heart and soul into the project" and the new room would mean "so much for families needing comfort and support".

Her colleague Millie Smith described Mrs Milson as a "true inspiration and loved so much". She is helping to organise fundraising events to pay for the memory garden.

"We want to make her dream come true and make a positive impact for her, the garden will have a massive impact," Ms Smith added.

Not able to nurse patients, Michelle said her new role has helped "challenge" her

Mrs Milson said she had been "alone in hospital a lot of the time" coming to terms with her diagnosis as it came at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

She initially hoped she could be treated with surgery before discovering the cancer had spread to her liver.

"Some days I could sit and cry, from the start of the day till the end, but then I think I'm still going to wake up in the morning and the situation will be the same.

"I've just got to gather myself and there's so many people out there who are struggling and I want to show them and my children that there's always hope, even when you might not live as long as you thought you might do.

"You've got to grab life by the headlights and say 'Look, while I'm here I will do the best I can do to make things better for other people and leave a lasting legacy'.

"I might not feel well, but I feel loved and I feel cared for and that's the legacy I'd like to leave when I'm not here anymore - there'll be a little part of me left in the hospital."

Michelle and her "hero" husband Robert who she says keeps her strong