Today we welcomed new MHF Brain Cancer Care Coordinator Sophie Cleal to the team with an afternoon tea with members of the Mark Hughes Foundation and the MHF Centre for Brain Cancer Research. Sophie joined the MHF Centre team just last week, and will be a valued member of our patient support team. “I’ve worked with brain cancer patients for the past 10 years in a surgical capacity, and I’ve always found them an exceptionally resilient group of people,” Sophie says.
“It was always a privilege to work with them and their families and be with them throughout their journeys.”
Sophie will be job-sharing with Alisha Gooley, and while the team is based at the John Hunter Hospital, they’ll be visiting patients and their families at the Mater, Gateshead, Lake Macquarie and Maitland.
Although the majority of their work is face-to-face, a phone call can offer provide the support and reassurance a patient or carer needs. “Our days can be spent talking to patients on the phone in the car between site visits, seeing people in person, or meeting people at their bedside.”
“The MHF has an incredible reputation and I’ve been privileged enough to see the Brain Cancer Care Coordinators at work from their very first inception,” Sophie says. “I’ve watched all the girls come through and seen the incredible work that they do with patients and their families and I’m very excited to be a part of it.”
