A huge privilege of being Cheltenham’s MP is being able to support exceptional people – Cheltonians whose actions and achievements can leave you lost for words.
Caspar Hambling and Ollie Burridge are two such people. Aged just fifteen, last Saturday the pair ran a stunning 50km in memory of their friend Ellison who died in 2021 from a rare form of bone cancer. They started their run at Cheltenham ParkRun in Pittville Park and ended it in Naunton Park. It is an astonishing and moving tribute, and I know I speak for the whole town in warmly congratulating them.
Their efforts were a powerful reminder, if one were needed, that cancer shatters lives.
So I am delighted to see such fantastic local support for plans for a new specialist cancer institute at Cheltenham General.
Spearheaded by the excellent Cheltenham & Gloucester Hospitals Charity, I am passionate about this project because a Gloucestershire Cancer Institute would support earlier screening, faster diagnosis and referral. That in turn would improve treatment for people living with and beyond cancer.
Cheltenham is already recognised for the excellence of its cancer care. Some of the best clinicians in the country are based here on our doorstep, and patients come from as far away as Clwyd in Wales to be treated. They benefit from some of the most modern equipment and scanners anywhere in the world, as I know from visiting to see the brand-new £6.5m radiotherapy machines.
But I am determined we should go further still.
I recently held talks with the Health Secretary to bang the drum for this project, making the case that funding from central Government would unlock the entire project.
Like the Prime Minister, the health minister received my pitch positively, and I look forward to being able to share an update shortly.
With the £17.2m Chedworth Surgical Unit recently opening to patients, I believe we must keep up the momentum for further health upgrades so that fewer Cheltenham families experience the tragedy of cancer.
In doing so, let us remember to pay tribute the talent, dedication and commitment of local clinical staff. They may not run 50km, but they perform extraordinary heroics every single day.
[Column published in the Gloucestershire Echo and Cheltenham Post]