£50k funding secured for hi-tech cancer care equipment going to Stoke Mandeville Hospital and other Bucks facilities
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Healthcare charity, the Cancer Care and Haematology Fund, has secured £52,000 to spend on equipment which will be used in Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville.
The charity has organised the new services in collaboration with Buckinghamshire NHS Trust.
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It has bought scalp coolers that will used by some patients to minimise hair loss during chemotherapy.
CCHF was set up in 1990 to raise funds to help patients diagnosed with cancer or blood disorders.
Initial funds raised by the not-for-profit organisation helped construct the specialist unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
CCHF’s chair of Trustees, Dr Ann Watson, said: “We are delighted to have been able to provide the money for new scalp coolers.
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"While they are not suitable for use by all patients undergoing chemotherapy, they provide an important option for many of those who are concerned about losing their hair.
"Our aim as a charity is to help the local NHS treatment facilities improve the experience of those who are undergoing what can be arduous treatment.”
The scalp coolers have been supplied by Huddersfield-based specialist company, Paxman, CCHF says it is the latest available technology.
Stu Rowling, head of UK Sales and Training at Paxman, said: “When faced with a cancer diagnosis and the prospect of chemotherapy, patients have many physical and psychological effects to deal with.
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To lose their hair is a major concern for many, often resulting in what feels like a loss of their identity.
“Scalp cooling allows people to take some control of a side effect which would otherwise be inevitable in some treatments.
"Thanks to the fundraising efforts and generous donation from the Cancer Care and Haematology Fund people accessing treatment within the cancer and haematology units at Stoke Mandeville and High Wycombe hospitals now have access to the latest generation of Paxman scalp cooling
systems.
"We know how much it means to patients to have the option to keep their hair and CCHF have made this a possibility for cancer patients in the area.”
CCHF is dependent on public donations and a team of trustees and volunteers who give up their time to support those suffering from the treacherous disease.