Guildford Living Feb - Mar 2020

ADVERTISING FEATURE
The Fountain Centre comes of age
Do you know what The Fountain Centre is? Some people find
out the hard way, but many Surrey residents have no idea
that they have this wonderful facility on hand when they need
it most...
The Fountain Centre is an independent
charity within St Luke’s Cancer Centre
at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in
Guildford. It offers support, counselling
and a range of complementary therapies
– to cancer patients and their families
from all corners of Surrey and beyond.
In 1988, it started life in a mobile cabin
in the hospital grounds. As it celebrates
its 21st birthday, it is now based within
St Luke’s, with welcoming lounge areas
and well-equipped treatment rooms.
It has a wig bank, library and garden,
and provides information about support
groups and specialist cancer charities.
in-patients, where a dedicated therapist
visits those who are too ill to leave their
hospital beds.
The Fountain Centre can help by
dealing with the initial shock of a cancer
diagnosis, minimising the side effects of
chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and reestablishing
confidence and well-being.
Some therapies help with pain, stress
and stimulating the body’s circulatory and
immune systems. Acupuncture courses
to control hot flushes in both female and
male patients are getting particularly
good results. Counselling has always
been a core service for patients and their
“ The Fountain Centre can help by dealing
with the initial shock of a cancer diagnosis,
minimising the side effects chemotherapy
and radiotherapy, and re-establishing
confidence...”
very special. A chemotherapy bus will
provide treatments at sites across Surrey
in early 2020, and there will be a Fountain
Centre therapist in place alongside the
clinical staff. And both Frimley Park
and Ashford St Peters hospitals will be
opening Fountain Centre facilities – small
to start off with, but with great hope for
the future.
Ambition and expansion all cost money,
so the fund-raising team is working extra
hard. The Family Service is lotteryfunded,
but other work depends entirely
on community support. 2020 will be full
of challenges and activities designed to
make it a year to remember.
For more information, visit
www.fountaincentre.org or call
01483 406619.
The Family Support Service is unique in
the UK, working with families from the
time a parent is diagnosed –about 25%
of new patients have school age children
(or younger). And recently the Fountain
Centre has introduced a new service for
families, and coaching has now been
added for those who want to focus on
moving forward after a cancer diagnosis
and successful treatment.
Some exciting developments will make
the Fountain Centre’s 21st birthday year
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