PEOPLE affected by cancer are now able to access a newly-developed Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Centre at Glangwili Hospital.

The service based in the Carmarthenshire hospital was officially launched on Wednesday, 12 October by the Chair of Hywel Dda University Health Board Bernardine Rees OBE and Yvonne Lush, Strategic Partnership Manager for Macmillan in Wales.

The service is part of a £3.3m investment Macmillan has made in the health board over the last five years for services to support people with cancer, and includes £500,000 specifically for information and support services across Hywel Dda.

Strategic Partnership Manager for Macmillan Cancer Support in Wales, Yvonne Lush, said: “There are 7,500 people in Carmarthenshire living with and beyond cancer and 1,299 people are diagnosed each year.

“Our vision is for everyone affected by cancer, both patients and those close to them, to have access to the information and support they need, whether this is at diagnosis, through treatment and afterwards to help them to manage the wider emotional or practical impact cancer can have.”

Bernardine Rees OBE, Chair of Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “We’re really proud to mark the opening of this information centre in Glangwili Hospital.

“I’m delighted we have been able to work with our partner, Macmillan, to provide this valuable service.”

The centre’s Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Co-ordinator Sarah Russell-Saw said: “This is a safe space for people affected by cancer to come and chat through their worries.

“I’m here to listen and help whether that is face-to-face in the centre or at the end of a phone.

“I’ve also got excellent connections with networks and support groups out in the community in Carmarthenshire so, when I chat with a person affected by cancer I can then signpost them to cancer-specific support groups or physical activity groups, courses or counselling services. “

The Cancer Information and Support Centre at Glangwili Hospital is located right at the entrance of the Priory Day Unit and will provide information and support to people when they need it most. The centre is open Monday to Friday and no appointment is needed.