Two Bury cancer patients are starring in a new film produced by Manchester’s specialist cancer centre, The Christie.

Des Burns and Helen Hyndman from Bury are among 14 patients who were invited to take part in the film to promote The Christie.

The film demonstrates the wide range of services provided by the hospital and how it helps improve the quality of life for cancer patients.

MBE winner Helen, 50, was working as an assistant director of nursing when she was diagnosed with advanced endometrial cancer in 2018.

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The experience inspired Helen to work for the gynaecological charity, The Eve Appeal, where she runs the free and confidential nurse information service Ask Eve.

Helen had an operation at The Christie to remove her womb, cervix, fallopian tubes, ovaries and pelvic lymph nodes.

The operation was followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which left Helen with a lot of side effects that made her life almost unbearable.

Helen’s team at The Christie took a holistic approach and put a pain management plan in place, working closely with the pharmacy team as the medications needed were quite complex.

Her consultant also referred her to the hospital's complementary therapy team to help alleviate some of the symptoms.

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In the video, Helen talks about how the support from The Christie to overcome the severe side effects of cancer treatment has enabled her to continue with the work that led to her being awarded an MBE earlier this year.

Des, 67, also from Bury, is a retired headteacher.

He has been treated for bladder cancer since 2018 and receives immunotherapy treatment at home thanks to a pioneering service where a Christie nurse visits his home to provide the treatment.

Having the therapy at home gives Des more time to spend with his wife, Roz, and allows him to help with the school choir at a local primary school, St Michael’s, where he is a governor.

He said: "The nurses who come out are very professional but also incredibly caring, attentive, helpful and reassuring.

“They are great company, too, whilst I'm having treatment.”

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The film will be used by Christie staff when they do presentations or attend high-profile conferences, and three versions will be available for international audiences, with Mandarin, Arabic, and Spanish translations.

Dr Neil Bayman, executive medical director at The Christie, said: “We want to thank all the patients and staff who participated in our new corporate film.

“We hope it shows how our staff care for and treat patients and how this makes a huge difference to them."