Charity appeal launches to fund comfort bags supporting lung cancer patients through treatment at Wolverhampton hospital

The bags – which include items such as lip balms, a knitted heart, puzzle book, adult colouring book, wet wipes and a digital thermometer – are the idea of Cheryl Garner, a lung care navigator and Macmillan support in the respiratory centre.

Cheryl, who has worked at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) for 12 years and in this team since last February, said it was important patients felt they had “someone in their corner” at a difficult time in their lives.

She said: “We already offer “hugs” which are little packages we give patients who have just been diagnosed with lung cancer to unwrap at home.

"Most of us go home and put the kettle on so these packages are made up of tea bags or coffee sachets, biscuits and a little wooden 'hug' disc to show them we are thinking of them and will be there for them during treatment.”

Between 18 and 30 new diagnoses are made each month and the team will support just under 300 patients each year.

The comfort bags, that Cheryl is now working on with the RWT Charity team, are made of hypoallergenic material and contain items that have been shown to be beneficial to patients having chemotherapy or radiotherapy. They cost around £10 each.

The bags feature the message “One patient, One team, One step at a time” and their design features the white ribbon for lung cancer, lavender which is known for its calming properties, a lavender ribbon, the cancer flowers periwinkles and carnations as well as forget-me-nots to honour the memory of former patients.

Cheryl added: “We just want our patients to know they have someone in their corner. It can sometimes be in a quiet moment at home someone might feel a little upset or vulnerable, especially if they don’t have family or don’t want to confide in family, and we want them to remember we’re here for them.”

Cheryl is hoping the RWT Charity appeal will help create a good stock of bags for patients.

Amanda Winwood, charity development manager, said: “This is such a good idea for our patients and we want to do all we can to support Cheryl and the rest of the caring team.

“Whether it’s children raising money for one bag, or businesses and larger organisations able to fundraise for a larger amount, all donations will be gratefully received. Please support this worthwhile cause which we know will make a real difference to our patients at their time of need.”

Amanda added the charity would look to roll out comfort bags more widely across oncology if the appeal proved a success.

Anyone who wants to donate can go to justgiving.com/campaign/rwttreatmentpacks or use the QR code.