Health

WOMEN are being urged to undertake regular screening for breast cancer, the most common form of the disease in the UK.

NHS Hertfordshire has issued the appeal as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which runs throughout October.

Dr Hillary Angwin said most cases of breast cancer are found by women who have noticed unusual changes and visited their GP for advice.

She said: "The earlier breast cancer is found, the better the chance of beating it, so it really is important that women make regular checks.

SIR Terry Wogan paid a visit to Northwood yesterday afternoon (29) to officially open a new chemotherapy unit at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre.

The radio and television veteran was the guest of honour at a special celebration for the £1.43million unit, largely funded by charity donations, which started treating patients in February this year.

After cutting the ribbon while standing in front of a plaque detailing the many organisations which supported the project, Sir Terry Wogan said: "It's a privilege, a pleasure and an honour to be invited to declare the new unit open, and I am truly humbled to be here.

NHS Hertfordshire is inviting residents from across the county to attend its annual general meeting next month.

The meeting, on Wednesday, September 22, will feature a review of the past year and changes proposed by the government, including the role local GPs will play as commissioners of services.

It will be followed by a light lunch will NHS board members.

The meeting will be held in Council Chamber, Campus West, Welwyn Garden City. For further information, email andy.watkins@hertfordshire.nhs.uk or call 01707 367 213.

BLOOD donation sessions will be held at St Mary the Virgin Church Hall, in Church Street, Rickmansworth, next Wednesday (18).

Sessions run from 12.45pm - 3.30pm and from 5pm - 7.30pm.

For further information, visit www.blood.co.uk or call the church on 01923 721002.

A BOWEL cancer survivor from Croxley Green is sharing her story to highlight the importance of catching the disease early.

Sue Judge, 62, of Baldwins Lane, survived thanks to seeking immediate assistance from her doctor after she noticed irregular bleeding.

She was diagnosed in 2004, and shortly afterwards underwent an operation to remove part of her bowel.

The mother-of-three and grandmother-of-eight now volunteers for charity Beating Bowel Cancer, working as a 'Patient Voice' to support cancer patients and promote awareness of the disease by giving talks in the workplace.

THE milestone celebrations of a popular scanner centre which has saved thousands of lives were held last week.

The Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, as featured in last week's Gazette's Memory Lane, is marking its 25th anniversary.

For the full Memory Lane story, see here: www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/west-london-news/local-uxbridge-news/2010/06/30/pioneer-of-the-scan-for-all-113046-26751823/

Based in the grounds of Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, the independent medical charity has carried out almost 200,000 scans to detect cancer and other serious diseases in its quarter of a century of existence.

Dr Paul Strickland (pictured) who campaigned to open the centre, was in attendance at the celebrations last Tuesday afternoon.

Margaret Sullivan, chief executive of the Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, said: "We are grateful to all of our donors, supporters and volunteers from the local community who have helped us for the past 25 years.

"Their support enables us to provide new equipment and undertake research into new techniques."

A NATIONAL cancer charity is inviting those who have been affected by lymphatic cancer to a support group meeting.

The North West Middlesex Lymphoma Association support group will meet on July 8 at 7pm in the Post Graduate Centre at Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood.

A guest speaker will attend to give a talk about counselling.

For further information, call free on 0808 808 5555 or visit www.lymphomas.org.uk

A CAMPAIGN has been launched by NHS Hertfordshire to help people to make the right decisions about what to do when feeling unwell.

The Let's Use It Right campaign is designed to encourage people to use NHS services responsibly when suffering from common ailments, such as earache and sports injuries.

A series of posters will be on display in accident and emergency, urgent care centres, minor injuries units and doctors' surgeries.

A SHORTAGE of space at Woodcock Hill Cemetery in Rickmansworth could force residents to look further afield to bury their dead.

Within four years, the traditional section of the cemetery, in Woodcock Hill, Harefield Road, is anticipated to be completely full - but councillors have rebuffed proposals to expand into an existing woodlands section on-site.

Since 1999, Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) has banned residents from pre-purchasing graves amid health and safety concerns about digging plots, and partly due to a loss in council revenue, as land values continue to rise from the time of purchase.

Council documents have also revealed that a paperwork blunder led to two bodies being buried in the wrong plots, and later having to be exhumed, at 'great distress to to the families concerned'.

A HOSPITAL in Northwood Hills earmarked for redevelopment will remain empty for a further four years at least, health bosses have announced.

Northwood and Pinner Cottage Hospital, a First and Second World War memorial opened in 1924, was shut in 2008 due to the facilities being in 'very poor condition' and requiring 'substantial maintenance work', which debt-ridden Hillingdon Primary Care Trust (PCT), responsible for the site, was unable to afford.

In the meantime, patients in need of treatment including palliative, respite and rehabilitation care, as well as out-patient and podiatry services, have been forced to travel to Mount Vernon Hospital in Rickmansworth Road, Northwood.