Rosemere's 20th anniversary concert

A special concert is being held to mark the 20th anniversary of Rosemere Cancer Centre.
Prestons BBC Young Musician of the Year 2016 winner Andrew WoolcockPrestons BBC Young Musician of the Year 2016 winner Andrew Woolcock
Prestons BBC Young Musician of the Year 2016 winner Andrew Woolcock

The event - at Blackburn Cathedral on March 30 - will be hosted by BBC Radio Lancashire presenter John Gillmore, who will introduce Preston’s BBC Young Musician of the Year 2016 winner Andrew Woolcock, the Lancashire Youth Concert Band and Bamber Bridge-based choir The Harmony Singers.Together, they will warm up the audience for the concert’s star guest, classical cross over singer Linda Tolchard, Heysham’s answer to Katherine Jenkins.The Spring Concert, in association with appeal partner Beaverbrooks the Jewellers, is taking the place of Rosemere Cancer Foundation’s annual Valentine’s Concert, which has been held at Blackburn Cathedral and hosted by DJ Mr Gillmore every February for a number of years. Tickets usually cost between £10 and £25 but it was decided to make the event free this year to mark the start of the centre’s coming of age year.Concert audience members will be offered raffle tickets and will have the opportunity to donate to an appeal collection. Throughout this year, charity the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, which supports not only the centre’s work but also projects to help cancer patients being treated at hospitals throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria, will be running a 20 Years Anniversary Appeal.Dan Hill, Rosemere Cancer Foundation’s head of fund-raising, said: “We usually have a big fund-raising push in February, of which our Blackburn Cathedral concert is a major feature. However, this year, we have delayed the concert so that it coincides with Rosemere Cancer Centre’s significant birthday.“The centre at the Royal Preston Hospital is Lancashire and South Cumbria’s regional specialist cancer treatment centre. It provides all local radiotherapy treatment, as well as some specialist chemotherapy and surgery. It was opened at the beginning of March 1997 so that local patients could have such treatment much closer to home as before then, they had to travel to Manchester’s The Christie Hospital, which is a relatively long way off.”Rosemere Cancer Foundation’s 20 Years Anniversary Appeal is seeking to raise £1.5m to fund a trio of ground-breaking projects at Rosemere Cancer Centre, based in Preston. They include bringing the latest in robotic surgical systems to the centre later this month, making it a European training hub for the advancement of robotic surgery.The system will be used to treat patients with gastrointestinal, bowel and gynaecological cancers. It will enable surgeons to use keyhole rather than open surgery on hard to reach parts of the body and in complex procedures, so reducing the risk of complications and speeding recovery time.It is also raising money for a state-of-the-art research facility to enable more patients to participate in clinical trials. Taking part in a trial could mean a patient has to access the medicines and treatments making newspaper headlines around the world as the drugs and therapy of tomorrow but which, because they are still being researched, are only available in a trials setting. In addition, the appeal is raising money to redevelop Rosemere Cancer Centre’s in-patient Ribblesdale Ward into a modern site, with places to socialise, make snacks and drinks plus private bays. To reserve a seat, call 01772 522913, email [email protected] or visit http://www.rosemere.org.uk.

For details of another fund-raiser as part of the anniversary appeal click here http://www.lep.co.uk/news/walk-in-the-dark-for-rosemere-1-8374051