Newbury Cancer Care marked 40 years of providing cancer support services to West Berkshire residents at a recent event.
NCC staff and volunteers were joined by more than 60 longstanding individual and corporate supporters to celebrate the milestone.
NCC founder and current president, Paul Millard, described how the initial focus was on improving palliative care in the community by providing support, grants and equipment.
He further explained how this led to the creation of the Rainbow Rooms at the old Newbury Hospital and later West Berkshire Community Hospital.
The need to offer chemotherapy locally led to the creation of the Rosemary Appeal — jointly with trustees of West Berkshire Community Hospital — which raised more than £5.5m to build the Greenham Trust Wing at the WBCH.
This wing now provides renal dialysis, chemotherapy and other support services nearer to home.
NCC also provides patient transport to attend consultations and treatment at more than a dozen hospitals and health care venues, as well as awarding hardship grants and supporting varied treatment clinics as identified by leaders of cancer services.
Dr Millard said the long-term success of the charity was its ability to change, so that services provided are needed and relevant.
Current NCC chair, Dave Ormrod, outlined the charity’s plans to extend chemotherapy facilities and, working in partnership with the Cancer Centre at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, to introduce new, expanded services and clinics at WBCH.
Mr Ormrod thanked the management of the Post Barn at Donnington Valley Hotel and other generous individual supporters for sponsoring the event.
