I WOULD like to congratulate the wonderful lady bell ringers pictured on the front page of the Hereford Times.

I wholeheartedly endorse their sentiments about the unacceptable journeys to Cheltenham for treatment. They talk about return journeys of 70 miles but, to Herefordshire residents like myself, the return journey is some 140 plus miles.

I was obliged to make this trip for chemotherapy for ovarian cancer and it involved getting up at 5am in order to be ready for the outward journey. Sometimes I would not arrive home until 8pm, having endured several hours of chemotherapy and waiting around the hospital feeling extremely unwell.

Many patients from Powys are obliged to travel to Cheltenham for their treatment and their journey is even longer than mine.

The Hereford Cancer User Group is constantly agitating for treatment to be available in Hereford Hospital in order to make life easier for cancer patients and the intention is to make most cancer treatments available in Hereford when funds allow.

Keep those bells ringing Jo and Jenny!

SANDRA WOODWARD, Clungunford, Shropshire..

I have nothing but admiration for the women who will be ringing the bells of Ewyas Harold Church in a bid to get cancer services in Hereford extended.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer. I had two operations in Hereford and started chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment in Cheltenham at the beginning of September, which finished at the end of April this year - a long time to be to-ing and fro-ing to Cheltenham.

I would like to say that my treatment in both Hereford and Cheltenham was first class. It was quick, efficient and caring. The staff in both hospitals are expert at what they do and I always felt I was in safe hands.

Having said that, it is a long haul to Cheltenham.

My last four chemotherapy treatments took between four and four and a half hours to administer, but that could only start after I had had the blood test, seen a doctor and then waited for the chemicals to be prepared, which can take from two to four hours, so I was often away from home for 12 hours, which is no joke when you're not feeling exactly 100%.

For the radiotherapy I had to travel to Cheltenham nearly every other day for six weeks which is tiring on its own, never mind the treatment!

Diagnosis and treatment of cancer has improved immeasurably over the past years. There is a lot of it about. Cheltenham has an amazingly heavy workload. The chemotherapy and radiotherapy waiting rooms at Cheltenham get seriously overcrowded with occasional requests for non-patients to give up their seats and, on one occasion when I was there, to leave the waiting room altogether.

There is no doubt that increasing the services in Hereford would alleviate this situation and there are surely enough sufferers in and around Herefordshire and Borders to keep a similar unit in Hereford very busy indeed.

I have no doubt that the response to any appeal for the Charles Renton Unit to be extended will be met with the usual 'shortage of cash' reply and there is a limit to what can be provided from donations.

This is a matter that should be taken up at government level. More money should be provided.

Getting a cancer diagnosis is somewhat life-changing as the operations and treatments are, in a lot of cases, going to dominate your life for the best part of a year. Having treatment locally would be an enormous help.

Good luck to the bell ringers!!

Amanda Watkins,

Kingstone, Hereford.