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Cancer patients and their carers are entitled to free therapy treatment after a huge donation from Rosemere Cancer Foundation.
The complementary therapy is due to continue until at least February 2027 after the £70,000 donation.
The existing funding ran out at the start of this month, but as the donation has been made immediately available, it means there will be no break to the service.
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Patients and their carers – either family members or friends – can request up to six no-cost sessions at either a holistic therapy studio in Preston or within the cancer unit at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital.
Krista Chadwick, holistic and oncology massage therapist said: “Patients and those going through the cancer treatment journey alongside them are often very emotional and so incredibly grateful for the service. In it, they find respite and the strength to stay positive.
“Some patients also feel it helps them cope better with treatment side-effects.”
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Data Krista collected last year showed that 150 patients and 13 carers from PR postcodes took up the therapy. Of these 124 were female and 39 male.
Sue Swire, fundraising manager for Rosemere Cancer Foundation said: “There is a huge amount of documented evidence highlighting the many benefits of complementary therapies in people undergoing cancer treatment. It has reached the point where such therapies are now considered integral to what is becoming a more holistic approach to cancer treatment as a whole.
“We, therefore, view our continued funding of complementary therapy as essential and believe it has to be offered at no cost to all patients and those supporting patients in order to make it available to everyone who wants it.
“We would like to invite more men to take up the offer. The evidence supporting complementary therapy’s role alongside conventional cancer treatment is not female-biased. In other words, there’s no reason why as many men as women shouldn’t be using the service as it is equally beneficial to both genders!”
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