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- Meet Mcgrath Cancer Care Nurse Michiko Ban
Meet McGrath Cancer Care Nurse Michiko Ban
This International Nurses Day, we’re celebrating how McGrath Cancer Care Nurses change lives.
Every day, Michiko Ban provides life-changing care to people going through cancer, and their families. This International Nurses Day, Michiko reflects on her role, and the impact it makes to people during their diagnosis and treatment.
“Life-changing care I believe starts with truly listening and taking the time to understand what every patient needs, not just physically but also emotionally. It’s about empowering people to make decisions by making sure that they understand what’s ahead and giving them strength and support.”
- Michiko Ban
Michiko has been a cancer care nurse for 19 years and was inspired to join the McGrath Foundation in 2018 by the Foundation’s first mission to place specialist breast cancer nurses in communities across Australia, at no cost.
“The McGrath Foundation stands for compassion, access, equality and human connection. Those are important values that I live by every day,” she says. “I was doing similar work in oncology wards in Japan before moving to Australia, and this is my calling.”
Michiko says McGrath Cancer Care Nurses “walk alongside patients and their families through treatment and beyond, as a constant steady presence with the knowledge and experience to guide them every step of the way”.
“I help people navigate a difficult period in their life with clarity, compassion and care.”
She adds that being a McGrath Cancer Care Nurse has also given her greater confidence to ensure that her patients have all the support they need, through additional education and learning opportunities.
“Being a McGrath Cancer Care Nurse has opened my eyes to how nursing should be. I’ve been working as a nurse for a long time, and it’s opened up to me what patients are actually going through, and what care we need to provide not just physically but also psychologically.
“The McGrath Foundation has provided me with education so I can upgrade my knowledge and skills and given me more confidence to provide more support and care to the person and their family.”
Jade Wendt, 45, had just finished supporting her mum through breast cancer when she was diagnosed herself. Four months later, her husband David, 44, “stole her limelight” when he was diagnosed with renal cancer while she was midway through her third round of chemotherapy.
Kristyn Schilling joined the McGrath Foundation in late 2024 and is one of our first specialist nurses providing care to people going through Gastrointestinal, Genitourinary & Gynaecological Cancers.
As our first male McGrath Cancer Care Nurse, David Brock is paving the way for others this International Nurses Day by providing life-changing care for people going through cancer.
Marie Laing has been a cancer care nurse for 17 years and is based in Canberra. She is one of our first McGrath Cancer Care Nurses to specialise in lung cancer.