'Skypad' cancer unit to be built

A turf-cutting ceremony will mark the start of work on the 10-bed facility at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales.

The Teenage Cancer Trust, which is behind the plans, said it will enable patients of similar ages to support each other through the same experience.

It said treatment on such a ward can improve survival chances by up to 15%.
Young patients from across Wales will be treated at the futuristic-looking building, which will be built on stilts between the adult and paediatric oncology centre.

It will include computers, TVs and game consoles to keep teenagers occupied during long stays in hospital, as well as facilities to allow relatives to stay close by over night.

The Teenage Cancer Trust (TCT) has specialist teenage units at seven hospitals in England but this is its first in Wales and is expected to be finished and opened in 2008.

An appeal was launched by the charity in 2004 to raise money towards construction costs and will continue until the project is completed.

"We are working to provide better services for Welsh teenagers with cancer, closer to where they live" said Simon Davies, chief executive officer of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

"This is our most ambitious project to date and will be a beacon for future TCT services".

Christian Evelyn, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia aged 16, said he would have appreciated thefacility during his treatment as he had been bored during long hospital admissions and never met patients of his age.

The 18-year-old is now in remission and, by coincidence, working for Cowlins, the contractor for the unit in Cardiff.

He said: "I know that this job will be a real eye-opener for my colleagues and one that we will take extra pride in.

"I am so glad we can actually help create this special ward for teenagers to make a very difficult time in their life that little bit easier."

Teenagers with cancer need specific care due to the rarity of the tumours they get and the type of psychological and social problems they face, according to Heidi Traunecker, a consultant paediatric oncologist at the University Hospital of Wales.

She said: "Their lives are changing - they are moving from education to the world of work and they have cancer on top of that.

"It can be a very difficult time for them, but this unit will really make a difference by catering for their specific needs in a purpose built environment."