A NEW Patient Support Unit – the first of its kind in Wales – has been set up to relieve the side effects of treating head and neck cancer.

Patients who have these types of cancer are treated with radiotherapy and chemotherapy which often leads to pain in the mouth and throat, making swallowing extremely difficult.

Nausea, dehydration, malnutrition and depression are among the other side effects.

But the new Patient Support Unit – at Velindre Cancer Centre – will help patients manage the side effects earlier and better by improving their nutrition and fluid intake.

Dr Mererid Evans, the consultant leading the service, said, “Patients with head and neck cancer typically undergo a gruelling six to seven week programme of daily radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy. The side effects can be brutal but, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are introducing early nursing, dietetic and speech and language therapy support to prevent the worst of them.

“Based on experience of a similar service in Canada, we hope to make a major difference in our patients’ quality of life. We will give people the knowledge and skills to manage some of their own care in the comforts of their own homes. This, in turn, will reduce the need to admit them to Velindre as inpatients.”

As well as supporting patients being treated with radiotherapy, the service will also support palliative patients.

Two nurses have been recruited to the new service, which is being piloted over three years at a cost of £355,000.

Velindre hopes to reduce the number of head and neck cancer patient admissions by 20 per cent over three years. Three hundred people with these forms of cancer are currently referred to Velindre every year.

The service has been funded by a donation from Andrew Probert, whose wife Jean was treated at Velindre for throat cancer.

“Over many visits to Velindre my wife Jean received the most fantastic treatment from all the dedicated professionals she came in contact with," Mr Probert said. "The extensive and draining procedures, both physically and emotionally, were successful, but unfortunately she died of other medical conditions within months of being announced as clear of throat cancer."

Mr Probert added: “We made the decision that we wanted to give something back to help those patients and families who don’t have it as easy as we did with the practicalities of dealing with cancer. Jean was a driver in that decision before she succumbed to the other medical conditions. There was of course never any doubt we would carry on with those plans after her death.

“It’s not just the staff who are heroes. It’s the patients and their families as well. They need and deserve as much support as possible. We are privileged to help the trust in developing that support.”