"The chemotherapy has helped me get my life back - I just had the best care"

08.10.2025

To celebrate Acute Oncology Awareness Week, we are giving an insight into the work our colleagues do to improve the lives of our patients.

Consultant medical oncologist Dr Max Gibb and acute oncology nurse Aisling Rogers-Pangrazio represent the best of us, according to cancer patient Suzanne Cocking.

Suzanne lives near Llangollen and had already had breast cancer more than a decade ago. When it returned last year, she was knocked off balance by the news but she described how Dr Max and Aisling kept her “anchored” and helped her regain some of the life she thought she had lost.

No one can tell that story better than Suzanne. So here is her experience, in her own words.

She said: “My breast cancer came back after 12 years last August. I started chemotherapy in November last year. I had some problems with the chemo making me ill and in December I ended up going into hospital for 10 days.

“I had high temperatures and the same thing happened in January, when I went into Wrexham Maelor for two-and-a-half weeks.

“The staff were brilliant but I kept getting moved around from ward to ward because of the pressures on space in the hospital. There was no continuity. I think I must have moved about seven times in two-and-a-half weeks. I know it’s no one’s fault, it’s the pressures.

“On all the wards the doctors and nurses were amazing but when you’re not very well and you’re being moved it’s not the best.

“However, Dr Max and Aisling were the constants for me. They kept popping up on whatever ward I was on. It was the one connection with oncology and I didn’t feel like I was lost.

“It gave me that sense of security I needed. They were just really warm, down to earth, kind and encouraging. It makes me quite emotional to talk about it. It makes me quite emotional seeing them both. They were like the anchors for me, the permanent things in that time of uncertainty.

“It was a comfort to my husband as well. Because they couldn’t give me an idea of when I was coming out of hospital, it made me more and more anxious but my husband Mike knew they were making me feel better.

“They keep your spirits up and they are trying to do their best for you. They’re very warm and you’re not just another patient. You feel like you really matter.

“I know the cancer won’t go away and it’s being managed. I have injections, one three-weekly and one monthly, plus a daily tablet.

“I am back at work for a couple of days a week. I work at the Llangollen Steam Railway and I’m even back doing dance classes.

“The breast cancer came back in my lung, liver and bones. I couldn’t get upstairs without stopping for breath. The cocktail they have given me, to be able to go back to a dance class again – I couldn’t believe it. In December, I didn’t know if that would happen again.

“Now, when I see Dr Max and Aisling they are genuinely pleased to see me and I am always pleased to see them.

“The chemotherapy has helped me get my life back. I just had the best care.”

Acute oncology nurse Aisling Rogers-Pangrazio said: “I enjoy being an Acute Oncology nurse because it allows me to make a meaningful difference in some of the most challenging moments of a patient's cancer journey.

“It’s humbling to hear Suzanne’s kind words and I’m so glad she is living life to the fullest she can after everything she has been through."

Consultant medical oncologist, Dr Max Gibb, said: “I think Suzanne’s story really highlights the importance of the acute oncology services from the patient’s perspective. Admissions to hospital are a daunting experience and can be very difficult to navigate, particularly in the context of a cancer diagnosis.

“We are there to provide that support and context for patients like Suzanne, as well as the hospital teams looking after them. I am really pleased Suzanne has been able to get back to doing many of the things she was able to before her diagnosis.”

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