Cancer patient Alex Reddington has praised Marks and Spencer staff in Handforth for their response when she urgently needed a toilet while shopping. Alex, who is receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer, was in the store with her grandparents when she experienced a sudden stomach cramp.
Finding the public toilets occupied or unavailable, she used a medical emergency card from Macmillan Cancer Support. The card read: "Due to my cancer treatment, I need urgent access to a toilet. Please can you help?"
Staff response
Alex said: "I was slightly embarrassed, I will not lie. Hi I'm currently fighting a battle I fear I may not win and I require assistance imminently. Then I realised, whatever do I have to be embarrassed about? This is a side effect of my chemo pills. The very pills that keep me alive. So I went to the lovely staff of Marks and Spencer's, showed them my card and said 'I need to use the staff bathrooms asap.'"
Staff escorted her to the staff facilities without hesitation. She continued: "The staff were wonderful! They were so kind and empathetic towards me and they rushed me to the staff bathrooms no questions asked. They treated me as though I was having a medical emergency, which I was, and assured me there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Thank you Marks and Spencer for coming to my air in my hour of need and granting me access to the sacred staff bathrooms. I feel much better now!"
Poster in bathroom
Alex also noted that the bathroom cubicle had a poster on the back of the door reminding staff to check their own breasts for changes. Handforth M&S reposted the video on TikTok, saying they would pass Alex's gratitude to the team.
Others praised the staff in comments. One person wrote: "M&S is my absolute hero brand. So glad they helped you. Absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, the staff are dead right. Wishing you a speedy recovery." Another said: "Crying reading this. Since ringing the bell on Tuesday my tears are rolling freely." A third commented: "That MandS poster is in their changing rooms too, which pushed me to get checked out, makes me well up every time I see it. x" A fourth added: "Ohhhh I love that they took care of you and I LOVE the stall posters! !"
Macmillan Cancer Support offers toilet cards free of charge to cancer patients via their website.
