Louisa Gwilliam, Rachel Cooper, Clare Webb, Keira Prince, Kirsty Bushell, Amy Thompson and Charlotte Barton with Rachel Cull as support crew are taking on a new challenge.........We are hoping to dip our toes in the sea at Whitehaven, cycle through West Cumbria, the northern Lake District then climb up steeply into the Pennines and finally on the third day dip our toes in the sea at Whitley Bay. A cycle challenge like this is new to most of us but we are all determined to complete it. 

The challenge is all self funded and we are raising money for the Royal United Hospital Bath Breast Unit redevelopment. As a group we have all had friends and family affected by Breast Cancer and feel strongly about supporting this local project. 

Royal United Hospital Bath Breast Unit redevelopment and expansion

The hospital needs to redevelop and expand the unit so it can facilitate its work with an increasing number of patients each year, plus provide a more welcoming and calming atmosphere to help patients feel relaxed and confident about their care.

The improvements to the Breast unit will give patients a more holistic experience in a soothing environment. The unit will have rooms designed for individual patient use, quiet rooms for privacy and dignity and also an outside area for private retreats. Extra space will allow for continued survivorship support, for holistic needs assessments, prosthetic fittings and also a treatment room for nursing interventions.

The NHS is providing funding for new equipment in the Breast Unit, which will cost over £1m. However, NHS resources are finite and we now need to raise additional charitable funds for the expansion and refurbishment work.

The redevelopment will cost £450,000 in total. It will be funded entirely through charitable donations to create an environment that promotes wellbeing and recovery and provides the very best facilities for an ongoing patient centred approach to care.

The Forever Friends Appeal funds projects that make a real difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients cared for by the Royal United Hospitals each year as well as the friends and family who visit them.