Cancer patient thanks nurse for her help in Brighton

Jamie Brazier, an assistant construction manager from Crawley, was diagnosed with stage two thyroid cancer on January 28 this year.

He had to undertake a five hour operation to have his thyroid removed before undergoing radioactive iodine treatment.

Since then, Jamie went into remission following treatment and wanted to say thank you to a nurse who was “extremely important” to him.

Jamie in hospital in January

Amy Gough, a clinical nurse specialist for Macmillan, looked after Jamie at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Eastern Road, Brighton.

The 25-year-old said: “The medical staff at the Royal Sussex County Hospital have been amazing, specifically Amy Gough who controlled my treatment from start to finish and took my very paranoid concerns seriously.

"Amy made the process so smooth and became a pivotal single point of contact for the entire process which was extremely important to me.

Jamie and Amy

“I wanted to celebrate the end of my treatment and finish the year in a more positive way than it began so I decided to climb Kilimanjaro and raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support as a thank you for the amazing support I received throughout my treatment.”

He is embarking on the eight day trek up Mount Kilimanjaro once he has reached his target.

Amy Gough, Macmillan lead thyroid cancer specialist nurse, who, along with her head and neck team at the hospital were recently awarded with a Macmillan Excellence Award for their work, said:

“We are delighted that Jamie responded so well to his treatment and has remained so positive as it is quite a shock to be diagnosed with cancer at any time let alone when you are only 25.

Amy Gough

"I was really touched when I heard that Jamie was taking on this challenge as a thank you to the team. He came to visit us and gave us a box of chocolates too which always goes down well!

“Thyroid cancer is of particular interest to me as my daughter was born without a thyroid gland, so I have first-hand, day to day knowledge of managing thyroid conditions.  I applied for funding from Macmillan to develop my role at the hospital as a specialist in thyroid cancer care and received funding for two years.

“As a result of the funding and, after detailed consultation with patients and staff, we were able to introduce a number of changes including adjustments to the treatment programme, so patients spend less time in hospital.  We also gave patients a single point of contact via a dedicated helpline - something that Jamie clearly benefitted from.”

So far Jamie has raised over £6,100 of his £10,000 target.

For more information, visit his JustGiving page.