Gloucestershire players help to Hit Cancer for Six!
16 July 2017
With the Cheltenham Cricket Festival in full flow, two of Gloucestershire County Cricket’s rising stars dropped in to meet nurses and staff in the local Cancer Centre to find out how their charity support is making a difference.
Brandon Gilmour and Callum Gregory took a break from the Cricket Festival, which is taking place on the grounds of Cheltenham College, to find out more about the Focus fund’s ‘Hit Cancer for Six!’ appeal and how it helps patients fighting cancer at the nearby Gloucestershire Oncology Centre.
Brandon and Callum handed over free tickets for the Cheltenham Cricket Festival for cancer patients at the Focus information Centre, and then saw the impact made by last year’s appeal which helped to fund new treatment suites for patients with Thyroid cancer.
The new suites provide the best possible environment for these local patients, often aged in their 30s or 40s, who receive an intensive form of treatment. Due to the radioactive nature of the treatment, the patients need to be kept in isolation at the hospital until their levels of radiation have fallen which usually last 4 days.
With access to a kitchenette and wifi, the new suites help to create a reassuring environment for patients which enhances their wellbeing, and have also doubled the number of patients who can benefit from the treatment.
Brandon Gilmour ‘Last year I visited the Cancer Centre and they were hoping to raise the funds needed for the Thyroid Cancer Suites, so it was brilliant to know that our support helped to make that possible. The nurses and staff there are just incredible and it’s great to be able to get behind the work they do.’
Richard Smith, Head of Fundraising for Focus ‘We really enjoyed Brandon and Callum’s visit, they were a real hit with our staff and were clearly interested in the impact their support of our Focus fund is making. The Hit Cancer for Six Appeal is a fantastic partnership, especially with the Hospital visible from the Cricket Ground, and we are very grateful to the players and Club for their support of local cancer care.’
• Focus is the charitable fund for the Gloucestershire Oncology Centre, raising funds which directly provide extra care, specialist equipment and improvements to facilities for local cancer patients. The Oncology team’s work reaches a population of over 1 million people, and donations make a real difference to the lives of local people fighting cancer and their families. Focus is part of Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity (registered no. 105606)
• To find out more about the Focus fund’s ‘Hit Cancer for Six!’ appeal and how you can get involved visit www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/charity
