Margaret Gargan is the Founder/Director of Bloomhill Cancer Help, which offers immediate help to any person going through the crisis of being diagnosed with cancer or other life challenging illnesses. This help includes physical, emotional, therapeutic and palliative care support and extends to include family members and their carers, from the time of diagnosis. Margaret has been nursing for more than 40 years, specialising in palliative care for 20 of them. She first became involved while working with the Blue Nursing Service in 1979 and presented her first paper on the subject at a national conference in Melbourne in 1984. Since then, she has presented papers at national and international conferences, including the Cancer Nursing Conference in London in 1988. She has been recognised for her contributions to the area of cancer support and palliative care through the award of a Paul Harris Fellowship by Rotary International in 1992, a Fisher Community Australia Day Award in 2001, a Commonwealth Recognition Award for Senior Australians, also in 2001, and a Centenary of Federation Medal in 2003, for her service to health care. In 2002 Bloomhill Cancer Help Centre was awarded the Inaugural Des Scanlan Memorial Award for the most outstanding community organisation.