By Lucy French | Fundraising Director
The Haven: Breast Cancer Support Centres
An update on our recent activities, July 2011
Breast cancer accounts for one in three newly-diagnosed cases of cancer in women in the UK.
Our free programme of care can make such a difference to breast cancer patients’ health and well-being, not only while they are coping with their treatment but long into the future. We are extremely grateful to all our supporters for helping us to do this.
Our successful Capital Appeal for our Yorkshire Haven
Last November we launched a capital appeal to raise £1.5 million to buy our Haven building in Leeds. Almost 4,000 women in Yorkshire are diagnosed with breast cancer every year: our aim is to ensure that each and every one of them knows about us, and that we are here to help them. Having supported more than 1,000 Visitors to date, we are thrilled to announce that we have been able to raise enough funds to buy the building we have called home for nearly three years, and secure the Haven’s future in Yorkshire.
Developments to our supportive therapy programme
Our Clinical Nurse Specialist in London has set up a weekly three-hour drop in session. This provision, which will offer access to a specialised cancer care nurse without needing to make an appointment, is already in place at our Hereford and Leeds Havens where it has proved very popular.
Our Haven in Hereford has started a programme of new outreach activities in areas that are not within easy reach of our Haven and where breast care support services are limited. Our team is providing a range of outreach breast cancer support, including free access to an experienced breast care nurse, practical information, emotional support and therapy services.
We are now accredited with the Department of Health’s Information Standard, a quality mark that shows the rigorous process we undergo to produce our high-quality information for people with breast cancer.
Blush Fashion Show, One Mayfair
The last large fundraising event of 2010-11 was a celebration of the late Catherine Walker’s work in May, which raised over £40,000. Catherine Walker was the favourite designer of Diana, Princess of Wales and was one of The Haven’s original supporters when we first opened in 2000.
A personal perspective: Clare’s story
“I was 34 when I discovered a lump on my breast, just a few days before giving birth to my third child. I had a lumpectomy and heard about the Haven in Hereford at the hospital where I was having my chemotherapy, and it was such a relief to be somewhere I could really relax. At that time I was also trying to get herceptin from the local health authority, which was a real battle. Then I was advised by my surgeon that I should consider having a double mastectomy and the removal of both ovaries.”
“I had reconstructive surgery a few months ago and I’m now back at work, but I couldn’t have got to this point without The Haven. It helped me pick up the pieces of my shattered world and enabled me to take control of my life again. It’s an amazing place.”
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