Marie Curie: ‘I hope I’ve made a difference’
Janet Suart has been a Marie Curie Nurse for 20 years, as well as raising more than £15,000 for the charity through epic challenges
Stood on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, Janet Suart knew her sore feet, her aching lungs and overwhelming tiredness had all been worth it for this moment. As she put down the ashes and photograph of a young man she’d help care for, who’d always wanted to climb a mountain but sadly passed away before he got the chance, she felt this huge feeling of honour. By climbing Kilimanjaro, walking the Great Wall of China and trekking the Atlas Mountains, Janet has managed to raise a staggering £15,000 for the Marie Curie Hospice in Penarth, Wales, where she’s worked for 20 fulfilling years. Janet first joined the charity when she returned to the UK after 11 years working as a midwife in Africa and felt like a change in career. “I went to the hospice and fell in love with it straight away – it had a wonderful feeling to it.” Since then, she’s been a palliative and end of life care nurse in the hospice, caring for people with terminal illnesses. “I felt it was my job to make every day count for the patients and their families,” says Janet, (61). “We can’t change the fact they’re ill but we can help get their symptoms under control and make life as pleasant as possible. I’ve always used a lot of humour and strived to make every patient laugh at least once a day.” Janet has also been passionate about re-educating people about hospices, both in her work as a nurse and as a volunteer ambassador and fundraiser for Marie Curie. “A lot of people are very fearful of hospices and think they’re depressing places. But the hospice is actually such a happy place where people are supported to live the rest of their life the best they can, whether that’s days, weeks or months. And the care of the staff is incredible. My motto, which I always passed on to young nurses, was to imagine that the man or woman in the bed is your mum or dad and if you treat them how you’d treat your own parents, you can’t go far wrong.” While every patient taught Janet something new, she says nursing her dad who had bladder cancer was a huge learning curve. “We had fantastic support from the Marie Curie Hospice, where I’d worked, and it taught me what it’s like on the other side of the fence. I realised it’s often the little things that worry you, and after that I tried to spot those little things and make them better for my own patients and their families.” Having marked 20 years with Marie Curie this year, Janet made the difficult decision in February to leave palliative nursing and end of life care. But she’s still dedicating her time to Marie Curie as she continues fundraising and talking to people about the charity. She also pops into the hospice to see patients and her former colleagues regularly. “They can’t get rid of me that easily,” laughs Janet. “It’s been an incredible journey with Marie Curie and everything I’ve done has been so rewarding.”
‘The hospice is actually such a happy place where people can learn to live the rest of their life the best they can, whether that’s days, weeks or months’