Dimbleby Cancer Care Charity
Dimbleby Cancer Care was set up in 1966 in memory of broadcaster Richard Dimbleby and is based at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in London.It is a small but powerful charity committed to supporting and funding the human aspect of cancer care, and providing essential support to people with cancer, their carers and their families.
The work we undertake in the cancer community is vital. Often when you are diagnosed with cancer your first thoughts go towards your medical care but Dimbleby Cancer Care provides practical and psychological support to people living with cancer to ensure that their lives can continue on as normal as possible during and after treatment.
The charity has helped establish a Drop-in Information Centre, Psychological Support Service, Complementary Care Service and Benefits Advice Service at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals in London – all are now recognised throughout the NHS to be critically important to patients undergoing treatment, but can only be delivered with the support of charities like Dimbleby Cancer Care. Our highly qualified team of complementary therapists, information specialists, psychologists, counselors and psychotherapists provide crucial support for patients and their families and carers, and work alongside the medical teams, chemotherapists and radiologists, in order to help relieve patients of anxiety and pain before, during and/or after some very unpleasant treatments.
Additionally, we are virtually the only charity that funds ‘seed corn’ and start up research projects in the area of cancer care. Each year we award grants of up to £300,000 to find better ways of helping those living with cancer. To date we have funded over 30 multi-faceted projects – to the tune of over £2,750,000 to help people either near the end of their lives or living with cancer. Guy’s and St Thomas’ psycho-oncology support team, which was established with the charity’s funding, today forms the backbone of our Information and Support Service, and has provided a model for other hospitals to follow.
In 2014 we launched the ‘Care for the Future’ appeal which aims to raise £500,000 over the next two years so that we can continue and expand our work within the cancer community, primarily in South East London. The appeal will run for two years, concluding with the opening of the new cancer centre at Guy’s hospital in 2016 where the charity’s Information and Support Services for cancer patients will have its new home, at the very heart of the centre. The services will also be available to patients accessing treatment at the new cancer centre at Queen Mary’s Sidcup (also due for completion in 2016) through a new Dimbleby Macmillan Support Centre.
Dimbleby Cancer Care will also be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015/16 – a great milestone in work within the field of cancer care, but there is so much more to do. With half the population likely to be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, our mission is to raise the funds to meet this rapidly growing need.
If you would like to find out more about Dimbleby Cancer Care or how to support us, please contact [email protected] or call 020 7188 7889.
Making Life Better
