A North East nurse was "furious" when funding for wellbeing services for cancer patients under her care was pulled - so she set up a charity to provide them instead.
Over the past three years, the Freeman hospital's Maureen Elliott has run Live Well With Cancer in her evenings and weekends. The charity provides a range of therapeutic services and support groups for patients and carers including craft sessions, art therapy and creative writing groups.
Maureen works as a cancer specialist nurse at the Freeman hospital. She explained the charity's work is about using whatever tools available - away from hospitals - to protect the mental health of those going through cancer and their loved ones. She said: "Our focus is very much on mental wellbeing and we focus on what patients will tell us.
