Clatterbridge patient appears on BBC Morning Live to talk about her milestone bell poem
Posted 1st July 2022
A patient of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Jane Brady, appeared BBC One’s Morning Live today to talk about the poem she wrote in 2020, when Clatterbridge was first to introduce the idea of a Milestone Bell.
End of Treatment Bells are a familiar sight in many hospital wards, rung by patients finishing treatment. Talking to Kym Marsh on Morning Live, Jane, being treated for breast cancer at Clatterbridge’s CANTreat clinic in Halton, said that hearing patients ring the bell gave her a lift.
However, with her treatment being palliative, Jane would never get to ring the bell in the traditional way.
“I wrote a poem about the journey of having cancer after a conversation with one of my nurses who was looking for a new poem to be more inclusive to patients who would never finish treatment. It was one of the matrons who saw the poem and the idea to introduce it across The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre was born” said Jane.
Jane’s new poem is now displayed next to the bell at all The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s chemotherapy clinics and patients are encouraged to read it aloud and ring the bell at whatever point in their treatment pathway they would like, whether that be to give them courage before their first ever chemotherapy session or perhaps after a particularly hard week of feeling unwell.
Patients can still choose to read the original poem and ring the bell at the end of their treatment.
Jane added “Like me, many patients want to ring the bell but may never come to the end of their treatment. It can be really upsetting for patients to hear others ringing the bell knowing their turn will never come.”
Jane's poem:
This bell is here for you to ring
While those around you cheer and sing
Already you have come so far
You’re stronger than you think you are
The journey’s hard, make no mistake
Each day, small steps you need to take
With love and strength to you we say –
This bell will help you on your way.
