This time of year can be tough for staff working on Teenage Cancer Trust wards. But as Hanna, 38, a lead nurse who works on a Teenage Cancer Trust unit, tells HELLO! it is also a "privilege" to spend time with young patients while they are in hospital over the festive season. As HELLO!'s special Christmas appeal, in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, reaches its final few weeks, Hanna tells us why donating to the charity will make such a difference to so many lives.
SEE: Sarah Ferguson, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie launch HELLO!'s Christmas appeal
"People come to us at the most challenging time of their lives, when their whole world has changed almost in a moment," she says. "And we are privileged as nurses and as support staff to care for those young people and their families. We want to help young people through their cancer treatment by supporting their emotional and physical health.
WATCH: HELLO!'s Christmas appeal with Teenage Cancer Trust
Having a diagnosis of cancer or treatment over Christmas is really challenging. And some of our young people will be here on their own over the holidays. But one of our nurses will be with them all the way. We can’t be their family, but we can step into that as best we can over the Christmas period."
She urges readers to donate to our appeal – which was officially launched by Sarah, Duchess of York and her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie – saying that every penny "directly impacts and benefits a young person having cancer treatment". "Each donation that’s made by the readers makes a difference to us as professionals in being able to provide care," she says.
Teenage Cancer Trust's amazing nurses help young people with their emotional and physical health
"You're not just benefiting one young person, you're supporting a whole service of nurses and youth support workers who are going to be caring for many, many young people throughout their cancer journey. We're highly trained, we're highly knowledgeable. And if you were going to have somebody with you to walk that journey, it should be one of us because we know what we're doing and we really cherish the young people that we care for."
And Sarah adds: "We urgently need your help to be there for every young person with cancer – not just this Christmas but into the future. We really can't do it without you."