****** Sorry, had to withdraw due to injury :-( but place has been deferred until 2011 ******

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Some of you may already have seen me poncing around town in tights but until you've tried it don't knock it. I just like the way they feel. However this is for a good reason and not some weird fetish, I'm training for the Virgin London Marathon 2010 on 25th April, where I'm hoping to raise as much as possible for Lingen Davies Cancer Relief a local charity dedicated to improving facilities for people with cancer in Shropshire and Mid Wales.

Lingen Davies are hoping to raise enough money to build a new centre. If you'd like to know a bit more then please read on.

The staff in ward 21 do incredible work everyday, they provide help, hope and support for those facing that scary diagnosis and the gruelling treatment that follows. I want to try and help them do their job a little more easily and of course make things easier for those being treated by raising money for the new Cancer Centre.The new Cancer Centre is to improve facilities at the Royal Shrewsbury for pretty much all local patients being treated for cancer. Lingen Davies hopes to raise in excess of £3m to provide a much needed new Chemotherapy Day Unit, improved facilities for Head and neck Cancer patients and a new Day Unit and Clinic for Haematology Patients at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. 

 

Each part is necessary and very important, please take the time to read a little about what is planned for the centre:

 

Chemotherapy Day Unit

This is used by the majority of cancer patients to administer chemotherapy treatments for hours at a time. It is currently running to maximam capacity. The existing waiting space is small and unsuitable and there is a lack of facilities for some specialised needs. Therefore further space and improvements are urgently needed. It'd be great to cut down waiting time and make things more comfortable so those being treated can get in and out fast and get snuggled up at home, or out to do something fun. The new building will provide two large areas for giving chemotherapy treatments for day patients. It willl  provide a designated room to administer PICC Line Chemotherapy (this can sometimes enable patients to have chemotherapy at home, for extra comfort and to free up bed space).  It will provide space to develop more clinical trials, to provide access to some of the newest treatments available. It will also provide facilities to cope with increased referrals and speed up waiting times, which is essential for the care and well being of the patients.

 

Head and Neck Cancer Patient Facilities

Treatment for this type of cancer is particularly lengthly because of the complex functions of the head and neck (e.g. speech, swallowing and sight). This involves long stays in hospital. Rehabilitation is also long and intense, involving a large multidisciplinary team meeting patients needs in terms of facial disfiguration, loss of self image as well as associated psychological, communication and functional problems. The current facilities are less than ideal for this lengthly treatment, the new centre will be very important. The new building will provide, new bedrooms with ensuite facilities to make the legthly stays a little more manageable, new consulting rooms with natural light, designated rooms for specialist nurses and multidisciplinary team and a more suitable environment to meet patient's needs.

 

Day Unit and Clinic for Haematology Patients

This is for treatment of blood cancers like Leukaemia, Lymphoma or Myeloma which affects patients at any age. Over 1,000 people in Shropshire and Mid-Wales are treated for blood cancers every year and this number continues to rise. The treatment can last up to six months and is currently given in a small area of an adapted Outpatients Clinic where space is extremely restricted. Because of the increasing number of patients each year and the already cramped conditions, the new Cancer centre is desperately needed. The new building will provide a new Day Unit with it's own entrance, waiting and consulting rooms. It will provide a large, purpose built area for patients to recieve their Chemotherapy. It will provide dedicated rooms for bone marrow testing and for patients to be seen by specialist nurses. It will also provide a more comfortable and private environment for local cancer patients.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.