A CHARITY says it is ready to reach out to Herefordshire residents living with cancer.

Nicky Heath, who founded the Yeleni Therapy and Support Centre five years ago, believes the free complementary therapies on offer to cancer sufferers in the county through her charity could make a real difference to their lives.

The centre – based on Blackfriars Street in Hereford city centre – has just undergone a small refurbishment and members of the public were invited to an open day on Saturday to see first-hand some of the work done there.

The charitable side of the centre has been set up to provide up to nine free complementary therapy sessions to anyone with cancer and these sessions are also combined with ongoing support through groups and workshops.

They include acupuncture, aromatherapy, deep tissue massage, Reiki, reflexology and yoga to name but a few.

Mrs Heath said that although The Hereford Haven provides an exceptional service to women suffering from breast cancer, she spotted a shortfall in terms of the support on offer to those suffering from other types of cancer.

"You're looking at over 100 different types of cancer," she said. "We have men and women and children – who come through more in the recovery time because their treatment is done up in Birmingham.

"It's about becoming better known and trying to raise our profile. We have this wonderful facility and we want more people with cancer to come. We are aiming to work with 400 people a year and it will make a difference to those people.

"There's such a need for what we are trying to do that I just feel quite passionate about wanting to reach out to as many cancer patients as we can."

The charity is completely independent and receives no central or local government funding.

It offers treatments to those who are not ill, and £10 from every fee goes directly to the charity.

"It costs £315 to be able to offer one person the nine free sessions and beyond that they would be able to access support groups and meditation groups and relaxation classes and learn self-help skills to support themselves at home," she said.

"We want to try and reach out to as many people as possible. The charity is now in its fifth year and we are really ready to get ourselves out there and get reaching out to some of the people living with cancer in Herefordshire and see which of them would like to come and have free treatments."

Visit yelenisupport.co.uk for more information.