Local people invited to cancer support service’s first birthday celebrations

L-R: HMR Community Cancer Service - Tricia Dodgson, Wendy Cheetham, Suzie Sutcliffe, Mel Jones

The Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale (HMR) Community Cancer Service is marking its first birthday with an extra special Macmillan Coffee Morning at Rochdale Infirmary this month, and local people are invited to join the celebrations.

To honour the service’s first year in the Rochdale borough, and its move to the new HMR Self-Care Hub at Rochdale Infirmary, the HMR Community Cancer Service team is hosting a coffee morning for local people to attend on Friday 27 September at the Damson Centre, HMR Self-Care Hub, Rochdale Infirmary, 10.30am-2pm.

The event will showcase the dedicated support available for people living with and beyond cancer in the Rochdale borough, as well as raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. Celebrations are part of the HMR Self-Care Hub’s launch, at which a variety of professionals from the HMR Self Management Service will be providing information about their work and how they can support local adults who live with long-term conditions, re-occurring illness, and disability, as well as carers.

The HMR Community Cancer Service team is made up of healthcare professionals who are specialists in cancer care and provide personalised care and support packages for local people with cancer, from diagnosis onwards. Since the service launched in September 2018, it has helped 120 Rochdale borough residents with cancer by identifying and addressing their individual care needs and concerns and helping them to manage their long-term health and wellbeing.

People who have received a cancer diagnosis can access the service through face-to-face drop-in clinics at Rochdale Library; Heywood Library; The Lighthouse Project, Middleton; and The Willows Dementia Hub, Rochdale. Referrals to the service can also be made by anyone involved in a patient’s care.

Dr Carolyn Walker, Macmillan GP & Clinical Lead for Cancer at NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group said: “Good health and wellbeing is so important for people living with and beyond cancer and the HMR Community Cancer Service has made great strides in helping local people with a cancer diagnosis to access the personalised care, support and information they need to enjoy the best possible quality of life.

“People who have received a cancer diagnosis, their friends and family are welcome to attend our celebratory coffee morning to find out more about the service and the new HMR Self-Care Hub.”

For more information about the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Community Cancer Service Team, please call 01706 517982, email: pah-tr.hmrcommunitycancerservice@nhs.net