Free cancer therapy for patients and carers returns to Lancashire after two year Covid break

Patients undergoing treatment at the Royal Preston Hospital’s Rosemere Cancer Centre and at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, plus their carers, can now request a block of sessions. The bill will be picked up by Rosemere Cancer Foundation as the charity has set aside £15,600 to fund the service until next August, when it will be reviewed.Elated with the news, Chief officer Dan Hill said: “We know the complementary therapy service has been much missed by patients and carers but we have had to wait for the green light from Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which manages local cancer treatment, before bringing it back. We’re delighted to have now been given the go ahead."He added: “The feedback we receive from those undergoing complementary therapy, a good number of whom were initially sceptical about it prior to starting their course, is hugely and overwhelmingly positive.

"It supports the wealth of documented research highlighting complementary therapy’s multiple benefits to those undergoing or caring for someone in cancer treatment.”Therapy sessions are delivered at two holistic studios – one in Higher Walton and the other in the chemotherapy unit, which was also funded by Rosemere Cancer Foundation, at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated at Rosemere Cancer Centre, the region’s specialist cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre, and also at another eight local hospital cancer units across the two counties, including that at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals boasts one of the largest radiotherapy services in the UK, and continues to expand and develop. Around 200 patients visit the Rosemere Centre every day for cancer diagnosis, treatment; including Chemotherapy, immunotherapy and Radiotherapy. There are clinics across the region to enable patients to receive their care closer to home. They are also the first hospital in the North of England to be able to offer patients the latest advances in robotic technology which will improve outcomes for patients living across Lancashire and South Cumbria.

The charity funds cutting-edge equipment, clinical research, staff training and innovative services and initiatives that the NHS cannot afford in order to make patients’ cancer journey more effective, comfortable and stress-free. For further information on its work, including how to make a donation CLICK HERE