Tanya Urquhart, a Clinical Nurse Specialist at Sheffield Children's Hospital, will receive funding from Macmillan cancer support for three years to help with her work in the long-term care of survivors of childhood cancer.

Tanya, from Millhouses, has been in the role for six years working with children and young adults who have successfully completed treatment for childhood cancer.

The role involves coordinating their care, providing them with educational and medical support and importantly health promotion advice.

Previously this role has been supported by a pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and Parents Association for Children with Leukaemia and Tumours (PACT).

Tanya is one of only eight specialist nurses in the country doing this important work and is the first to receive permanent funding from Macmillan.

Tanya said: "My role as Specialist Nurse with childhood cancer survivors is incredibly rewarding. I am now looking after some teenagers and young adults survivors I cared for as a nurse in the Children's Hospital Cancer unit between 1993 and 2002.

"I am delighted to have been successful in my bid to Macmillan and to be working in partnership with them. The funding is vital to continue the specialist work looking at the long-term effects of cancer treatment that is being done by our primary treatment centre.

"We have a patient population of more than 600 who come from two different hospital Trusts. We also receive about 75 new referrals into the service each year.

"It can be challenging, but is vital work, particularly as more children are diagnosed with cancer and developments in cancer treatments mean there are increasing survivors. In fact it is estimated that by 2010 1 in 250 young adults will be a survivor of childhood cancer."