Cancer sufferer 'blown away' by Cranford Hospice care

Waimarama's Jennifer Chesterman took on the Queen Charlotte Track last year, confident that Cranford Hospice had arranged emergency care if needed. Photo / Supplied

Diagnosed with cancer four years ago, Jennifer Chesterman knows she is living on borrowed time, but the care of Cranford Hospice has made that brutal reality a bit easier to bear.

From Waimarama, Mrs Chesterman had breast cancer, which spread to her bones, ovaries and stomach, to the point that she was referred to palliative care four years ago.

She had some trepidation about what she would experience at Cranford Hospice when she began weekly visits a year ago, she said.

"I thought hospice was a place to die when an illness became bad - I said I was not going there but in the end I didn't have an option.

"When I opened up the door I was expecting a cross between a morgue and a monastery but it was nothing like that - the radio was going, there were nurses going back and forward and there was lots of laughter - the atmosphere was completely different to what I was expecting, I was blown away."

Booking into the hospice each week to have a large amount of fluid drained from her stomach, she can't talk highly enough about all the staff involved in her care - from the nurses to the cooks.

"All the staff are hand-picked and they are wonderful - and then there's the volunteers who put in their time to make you comfortable."

Not letting the cancer dominate her life, she said she received great support when she decided to she wanted to tramp the Milford Track last year.

Told it might be a bit tough, it was suggested that she walk the Queen Charlotte Track, which was close to Blenheim.

Staff at Cranford called the hospice in Blenheim and had it all arranged so Mrs Chesterman could order a water taxi and be transported to Blenheim should she run into trouble.

"I ended up not needing it, but was there.

"The back-up support is so good - if you want to do something they get right in behind you to help you."

That included how she wanted her treatment to be carried out.

"When I die, it will be my death on my own terms and in my own time - I know it's coming but they really listened to what I wanted and it's very empowering to run things the way I want to."

Keen to give back, Mrs Chesterman joined the street appeal collection for Cranford Hospice last year, and said any opportunity she had to spread the good word she took full advantage of.

"Cranford Hospice truly helps me live every moment - if it wasn't for their care, I would be long dead".