Cancer unit is real gift to Herefordshire boy William, 7 (From Hereford Times)

Cancer unit is real gift to Herefordshire boy William, 7

3:30pm Thursday 22nd December 2011 in Ross-on-Wye

LIKE thousands of other children across Herefordshire William Hoare will wake up at home on Christmas morning bursting with excitement and ready to rip open his presents.

But seven-year-old William is only spending his Christmas at home in Garway thanks to the new children’s cancer care serviceat Hereford County Hospital.

William is currently battling leukaemia, the most common childhood cancer.

When the football-mad youngster was diagnosed last Christmas, his family were faced with the possibility of having to travel outside Herefordshire for his treatment – a tough prospect on top of the gruelling course of chemotherapy he would have to go through.

Fortunately, a shared cancer care service had just been introduced at the County Hospital.

William was the first child in Herefordshire to benefit from cancer care closer to home.

Before the opening of the Macmillan Renton Unit (MRU) at the County Hospital in July this year, all Herefordshire cancer patients faced long journeys to Cheltenham and Birmingham for treatment.

For children, the long journeys out of the county were particularly tough.

Thankfully, William has been able to receive most of his treatment and monitoring at the children’s ward in Hereford, only travelling to Birmingham Children’s Hospital for regular checkups.

Talking about the impact it has had on their lives, William’s dad, Tom Hoare, said: “It’s thanks to the children’s cancer service at the County Hospital we can spend Christmas together as family, without having to travel a long way for William’s treatment.

“We could not ask for more caring, reassuring and helpful staff.

“William is happier coming here and all his friends and family can visit him because the hospital is near to home.”

The local cancer service was set up specifically to support young patients and their families, cutting down the number of lengthy journeys to out of county hospitals in Birmingham, Shrewsbury or Worcester and making certain aspects of the cancer treatment available here in Hereford.

It has been invaluable to the Hoare family, giving William more time to spend with his family, attend school and play football with friends.

William and his family have also received support from CLIC Sargent, the children's cancer charity which provides financial help, free accommodation near the specialist cancer centres for families and holidays in the UK.

For more details, visit clicsargent.org.uk