Today, Friday 4^th February, is World Cancer Day. World Cancer Day is the global uniting initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to raise awareness about cancer.

This year’s World Cancer Day’s theme, “Close the Care Gap”, is all about raising awareness of this equity gap that affects almost everyone, in high as well as low- and middle-income countries, and is costing lives. Our vision at St Wilfrid’s is for all dying people and their loved ones to have access to the support and care they need. For our vision to succeed, it is vital that we welcome, understand the needs of, and can support people with diverse backgrounds, characteristics and needs.  It is also core to our success that our staff, volunteers and supporters champion equality, embrace our spirit of inclusivity and reflect the diversity of the community we serve. You can read more on our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work here

Here at St Wilfrid’s Hospice, our doctors, nurses and other trained staff are specialists in caring for people who have life limiting or terminal illness. We care for local people with all types of illness from Motor Neurone Disease (MND) to Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and many more, however the majority of our referrals last year included a cancer diagnosis for the patient involved.

We work closely together with colleagues in Oncology and at our local hospitals to give the best care and support for our patients and their loved ones. Sometimes patients are concerned about palliative care specialist becoming involved in their treatment, however we listen and support our patients with the expert care they need.

For more information about cancer types, visit the NHS website https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer/ , and if you’d like to donate to support our vital hospice care, we are grateful for your generosity.