It comes as Walk the Walk has donated £20,000 to the service

Beatson Cancer Charity’s Specialist Health and Work Service has exceeded 10,000 interactions with patients who require advice and support around their employment following a cancer diagnosis. 

The milestone was met during the charity’s 10th birthday celebrations following its anniversary on 27 February. 

It comes as nationwide charity Walk the Walk, best known as organisers of the iconic MoonWalk fundraising events, has donated £20,000 to the service to allow it to continue offering support to patients. This is part of a series of grants to organisations to enhance cancer support services. 

Beatson Cancer Charity’s Health and Work Service is based on the grounds of The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre and the service supports anyone who is affected by cancer or someone who is caring for someone with cancer with any work-related queries. 

Rebecca Duthart, specialist health and work practitioner at Beatson Cancer Charity, said: “We can support somebody from the point of diagnosis with anything to do with their work.  

“We can write supporting letters, we can go to employment meetings with them, we can have 1-2-1 support calls with them.  

“Sometimes when they’re off sick, they don’t know how to manage that absence or say what they need from their employer. Or it could be about returning to work and not knowing how to ask for what they need in terms of adjustments or their rights or employment law and how all this relates together. 

“What we see a lot of the time is people not really knowing what they can and can’t say to their employer, what they can ask for, what’s reasonable.  

“Because cancer is a registered disability under the equality act, there are things that employers are bound by law to try and support that person with to make sure that people that have cancer and are going back into the workplace have an equal opportunity within the working environment as people who don’t have cancer. 

“That’s where we come in – to try and help that person be more informed so they know the things they need in order to get to that place.” 

Walk the Walk’s donation will support the service to continue and develop further. 

Nikki Etheridge, specialist health and work practitioner at Beatson Cancer Charity, said: “We are so grateful for the grant funding that we’ve received from Walk the Walk. It makes a huge difference.  

“It allows us to continue running the service. We want the service to be as accessible as possible and to reach as many people as possible so anyone who has a cancer diagnosis knows where to go for support around work-related queries.  

“That means we can develop our workshops, we can offer more 1-2-1 support and maybe even scope to do some more support with employers as well.” 

Walk the Walk is most known for its MoonWalk events where women and men walk through the night in bras to raise money. The first Scottish MoonWalk was held in 2006 in Edinburgh. The charity has since raised more than £140 million for charities across the UK and is hosting its annual MoonWalk in Edinburgh on Saturday, 7 September. 

Nina Barough, founder and CEO of Walk the Walk, said: “Walk the Walk is incredibly proud to be granting funding to Beatson Cancer Charity, who offer invaluable advice and support to patients following a cancer diagnosis. 

“I know from my own experience how frightening and isolating a cancer diagnosis can be and that the Specialist Health and Work Service makes such a huge difference to so many people and their families by offering help and advice at an incredibly difficult time in their lives.  

“While Walk the Walk supports its own campaigns, we also help other charities to meet their aims, and grants like this one are very exciting and wonderful to share with Walk the Walk’s fundraisers – I cannot thank these generous and wonderful people enough!  

“We could not do any of the special work we do without everyone’s support, so help us to do more by signing up now at www.walkthewalk.org for The MoonWalk Scotland on Saturday, 7 September or MoonWalk London on 18May and join these incredible fun filled fiestasof a night!" 

For more information about Beatson Cancer Charity’s Specialist Health and Work Service, visit Health & Work Service | Beatson Cancer Charity.