Sue Whitney is bright, colourful and fun, and has a great sense of humour, but don’t let that distract you from the serious subject she is most passionate about – providing safe and appropriate treatment to people living with a cancer diagnosis.
But after more than 25 years in her role at the Lismore Cancer Unit, and over four decades of nursing, Sue is stepping back.
Sue began her nursing journey in 1980 at St Vincent’s Hospital in Lismore.
“Training was very different back then,” Sue laughed.
“We lived in the nurses’ home at Vinnies and travelled to classes at the Base Hospital in what we called the ‘chook wagon’ with our nurse’s caps banging on the roof, and we learned through experience. It was strict but we had so much fun and incredible camaraderie.”
Sue’s early years included time nursing in Narrabri, Melbourne, Sydney and Gosford before returning to Lismore in the early 90s, where she worked across surgical, medical and ED wards. By 1994 Sue found her true calling in cancer care.
“Ever since completing my Chemotherapy Nursing Practise Certificate in 1996, I’ve been obsessed with cancer nursing,” she said.
“I wanted to make a difference after seeing cancer patients die in pain during my training. Back then, “end of life” pain management wasn't done very well.”
When the cancer unit moved into its new location in 2009, Sue became the Clinical Nurse Consultant (CNC), a role she held for 16 years.
“Before that, resources were limited,” she explained. “The CNC was also the nurse unit manager and there was no educator. Moving to this larger location meant we could separate those roles and build a stronger team.”
Sue’s impact has been profound. She helped establish cancer clinical trials in the Lismore Cancer Unit, securing funding from the Cancer Institute and supporting groundbreaking research such as the SNAC trials that changed breast cancer treatments.
She also championed safe handling of cytotoxic medications and trained hundreds, possibly thousands, of nurses across the District.
“Safe practice has always been my passion,” Sue said.
“First, is the patient safe? Second, are the staff safe? That’s always been my focus.”
Kylie Lindsay, Medical Oncology/Haematology CNC, Northern NSW Cancer Institute at Lismore Base Hospital, praised Sue’s education-focussed approach.
“Sue has worked tirelessly to develop education, write policy and procedure, nurture new and old staff and maintain patient safety.
“Her commitment to patient-centred care led to her establishing the subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIG) program which allows patients to self-administer treatment at home.
“It’s about improving quality of life, now patients don’t have to spend hours in hospital every month,” Kylie said.
When asked about her coping strategies, Sue said “my work can be tough, especially when someone dies, so sometimes just plain crying is good, but mostly it’s about finding joy.”
Sue also practices mindfulness and self-compassion.
“I don’t sleep well so I do a lot of online courses about kindness and resilience in the middle of the night,” she admitted with a laugh.
Despite her professional achievements, Sue remains humble.
“People have wanted to nominate me for awards, but I’ve never wanted that,” she said.
“Any accolade I get is because of the people around me. You can’t do this work alone.”
Her colleagues agree. Nurse Unit Manager Nick Allen said, “as passionate as Sue is about cancer care and training staff, her greatest strength is her friendship and the way she cares for people. That care is infused throughout the whole unit.”
Kylie added, “Sue is the most influential mentor of my nursing career. She taught me all my tricks. I’m going to miss her so much.”
As she transitions to a casual role before retiring fully next year, Sue looks forward to slowing down.
“Often, at work, I have felt like a rat running on an exercise wheel. I want to do more nothing!”
She will spend more time with her family and indulging her hobbies like gardening, sewing, caravanning and baking.
“My recipe book is the golden item in our family,” Sue said. “My granddaughter has photocopied every page, and my daughters are already arguing about who gets my recipe book after I die,” Sue laughed.
Reflecting on her career Sue said, “we’re privileged to work here but I never forget how hard it is on the wards. It’s probably harder now than when I was there, more expectations, less time to learn. I really admire those staff.”
“I'd like to say a huge THANKYOU to the hundreds of staff I have known through nursing. Amazing memories and times over 45 years, will always remain with me!”
Pictured:
Her much-envied pen collection started has a bit of joke but is now over 1,000 strong and fully colour coordinated! “Viewing by appointment only,” she laughs. Pictured with Nick.
Sue’s colourful personality has brightened many days. “I’ve got about 45 pairs of coloured stockings. I match them to themes, green for lymphoma week, pink for breast cancer. Sometimes a patient will say, ‘I love your stockings,’ and it might be the only time they smile that day.” Pictured with Nick and Kylie.