The Stars of Orange dance team of cardiac nurses from Orange Health Service is comprised of Kerry Porter, Kath McMaster, Kate Toynton, Lyndal Taylor, Sandi McAtamney and Elspeth Moore. All of whom have worked together for "years and years".

"We are a small and close-knit team that work hard together under sometimes difficult, stressful and trying circumstances," Kerry Porter said.

"We rely heavily on each other and have become like a family.... When things aren't going so great at work, we're really good at binding together."

Their collective motivation for getting involved is driven by the nurses' shared experience of having a friend affected by cancer.

"It hit us hard when one of our own was affected by breast cancer in 2012. She fought hard... and was well for a time, [then] in 2018 we found out that her cancer had returned in her brain," Ms Porter said.

"[She] battles with this every day. It is constant and I don't think it is true to say that you ever 'overcome' this disease. It walks with you every day. It hangs over your head day in, day out. As a team we would like to support [her]."

What has proven a slight challenge for the busy nurses who work all hours of the day and night and are frequently on-call, is getting them all in the one place to practice.

Fortunately, they have a very patient and flexible dance instructor in Fattisha Kamara, and a very accommodating venue for practice in Fitness Perfection.

Tickets for the Stars of Orange gala night on Saturday, June 26, are available through the Cancer Council website.

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