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Weekly in £2.5m fundraising drive for new cancer centre

A weekly newspaper has launched a £2.5m fundraising drive to help build a specialist cancer centre for the area.

The Derbyshire Times has started an appeal to help build a new centre based at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, to transform cancer services for people facing the disease.

The hospital’s foundation trust has already pledged £6.4m and the newspaper’s appeal, run in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, aims to raise the remaining £2.5m needed.

Planning permission for the new centre, to be named the Chesterfield Royal Macmillan Cancer Centre, has just been granted and it is due to open in the autumn of 2016.

DT cancer centre

The new building will see a purpose-built facility which provides a single point of access for all assessment, treatment and support services for the 9,000 people fighting cancer across the area each day.

In a comment piece about the campaign, editor Graeme Huston said: “Nobody should face cancer alone and if we all pull together, at the Chesterfield Royal they won’t have to for much longer.

“Every year more than 1,500 people in North and North East Derbyshire are told they have cancer.

“That figure is terribly sad on its own but means nothing compared to the individual stories that everyone has to tell about their own loved one or, indeed, themselves.

“This new centre will mean so much to so many of us and that is why we are so proud to give it as much support as possible.”

The Johnston Press title is calling on readers to make donations and organise fundraising events to help fund the £8.9m centre.

Current cancer facilities at the Royal Hospital are oversubscribed, meaning patients sometimes need to travel further afield for treatment.

The cramped facilities mean it is not possible for everyone undergoing chemotherapy to have friends or family with them.

The lack of space also means that patients can’t receive treatment or information about their diagnosis in private.

For further information or to donate to the appeal, click here.

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  • April 16, 2015 at 8:13 am
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    As someone who has lost friends and family to this disgusting plague I say well done to the Derbyshire Times. As my mum was from Derbyshire I shall send a donation or pop one in next time I visit area. Good luck!

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