A DEDICATED nurse marked more than 20 years of caring for male cancer patients when she picked up a national award.

Prostate cancer specialist Sandie Jones has been in the forefront of developing services at Wrexham Maelor Hospital for men hit by the disease.

When she started at the hospital there were no nursing services for men with prostate cancer and they were often left to come to terms with their diagnosis and battle through treatment alone.

So Sandie launched a nurse-led follow up clinic for all men who had been through treatment which provided them with the support, information and the ongoing care they desperately needed.

She also underwent training herself and at one time was the only nurse in Wales able to perform prostate biopsies, meaning that patients were cared for by her throughout their entire cancer journey.

She recalled: "Back when I started there was little specific nursing services for them in Wrexham.

"We now have got six nurses in the urology department and I am training up another nurse to work in a senior role when I retire.

"I have been an advocate for the men to talk them through treatment options, I do their biopsies myself and request scans, so basically I am there for them every step of the way.

"For example, if there is any chance the biopsy will come out as cancer I make it my business to see them to talk through what will happen."

Breaking the news to anyone that they have any form of cancer is hard and it a tough conversation that is having to be made more and more as the rates of diagnosis of male prostate cancer rise.

That is partly attributed to men living longer, but the impact of new generation drugs that keeps them alive much longer than those who have suffered in the past means more services and resources are needed.

"Twenty years ago they might have only had months now with the drugs they can have many years," Sandie said.

"So counselling is a big thing for men to come to terms with their illness, both when they are being treated and after they have recovered too.

"At that point we still want to see them and do follow-up telephone calls. We would also like to set up a remote monitoring system at the Maelor."

Catching the warning signs of prostate cancer is a key part of Sandie's work at the Maelor too.

It is the most common cancer in men with over 47,000 diagnosed with the disease every year in the UK.

Wrexham Maelor Hospital treats more than 2,000 men with prostate cancer every year but while the numbers are increasing year on year the prostate cancer nursing workforce remains under-resourced.

Anyone with concerns in their 40s and 50s is advised to undergo a PSA blood test and keep a watch over "bladder and toilet habits".

"If you are going to the loo and not feeling like you are emptying your bladder or there is blood in the urine then you need to get checked out," she advised.

"It might not be anything, but men need to be more aware."

Among the many men who have come under Sandie's care over the years is Frank Maddocks, 72, from Wrexham.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer more than four years ago and credits the nurse specialist for getting his life back on track after surgery.

“When you hear that you’ve got cancer, your whole world is turned upside down and I didn’t know where to turn," he recalled.

“Thankfully, Sandie was my nurse and she guided me through every step of the way.

"She was there right from the offset – she performed the biopsy, gave me the results, explained to me what the results meant, consoled both me and my wife, talked us through my treatment options, and was there following my surgery to help me get back to life.

“She’s truly professional, incredibly kind and goes above and beyond."

That dedication helped secure Sandie, 63, the Prostate Cancer UK’s People’s Choice Award which was presented to her at a ceremony at British Association of Urological Nurses conference at the Hilton Hotel in Bournemouth.

She was also handed a bursary of £1,500 for training, or service improvement in Wrexham.

Leceia Gordon-Mackenzie, change delivery senior officer at Prostate Cancer UK, said: "Sandie has dedicated the majority of her nursing career to helping men with prostate cancer in Wrexham.

"Nurses like Sandie can make all the difference."

Sandie has also set up two support groups in Llangollen and Wrexham, which are attended by a number of men on a monthly basis, and she is a dedicated fundraiser having climbed Mount Kilimanjaro last year to raise £6,000 herself.

For further information on prostate cancer visit prostatecanceruk.org, or to speak to a Prostate Cancer UK Specialist Nurse call 0800 074 8383.