A HAMPSHIRE oncologist who helped save the life of six year old boy has been recognised as a hero.

Dr Jessica Bate works as a consult paediatric oncologist at the Piam Brown Children's Oncology Ward at University Hospital Southampton.

The 42-year-old has been nominated for the Daily Echo's Readers Choice Award as part of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust's Hospital Hero's Awards.

Jessica, who has been working at the University Hospital Southampton since 2015, has been nominated by Debbie Martin, whose son, Finn, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2015, at the age of three.

Debbie who is from Warminster in Wiltshire met Jessica the day they were transferred from Salisbury.

She said: "Jessica's kind, sympathetic, always listens to you and puts you at ease, which is an amazing feat when dealing with childhood cancer.

"She is incredibly caring and she is the most fabulous doctor.

"She explained Finns awful diagnosis in detail, and outlined the positives as well as the negatives. It was one hell of a balancing act.

"She explained that although my son was very poorly and that he had over three years of treatment ahead of him, he stood a very good chance of a long life ahead.

"She said he would grow up, go to university, and the only thing that will remind him of his awful ordeal, will be a scar where his chemotherapy port once was, and she was right.

"My son thankfully finished his treatment last month, and we had a massive celebration in the ward with Jessica.

"Jessica is without a doubt, mine and my sons hero."

Jessica, who runs the staff choir and sessions for staff to talk about difficult issues in their job, said: "It's lovely to be nominated, but the way it works means they deal with a lot of people.

"There's people in labs and nurses with medication.

"It's touching to be nominated, but I feel it should be for everyone.

"It's very humbling, as we do our job and love doing it, but it's really touching to think that we have helped a family so much to get nominated."

Talking about the job, she said: "It's not quite as depressing as you think it is.

"The cure rates are very high now, which has come with lots of research over the years, and you really get to know the patient and their siblings so it's a real privilege to do that."