There are concerns about the future specialist cancer nursing workforce, and its ability to meet the growing need for cancer care. There are few opportunities to progress into specialist nursing roles that offer support and development, and there is no national or strategic framework. One group of acute NHS trusts has addressed this by offering a development programme for nurses that includes mentorship and learning opportunities, in partnership with a specialist cancer trust. This article reports the evaluation of the programme, which will be rolled out across north east and central London as a practical solution to the problems associated with developing specialist nurses in cancer care.