The Tea Party has been arranged from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Parish Hall, Stanley.

Everyone is invited to come along, enjoy a cup of tea and a piece of cake (in exchange for a small donation!) and buy raffle tickets.

The highlight of the event will be at 4 p.m. when His Excellency the Governor will cut the large cake kindly donated to us by the military. He will be using his ceremonial sword for this task!

This will be followed by the prizes being drawn in our Grand Raffle. There are lots of good prizes, including two first prizes of a Lan Chile return ticket to Punta Arenas; there is also a DVD player. Ticket sales are going really well, both in Stanley and in Camp.

The event is planned to raise awareness of the Trust and its work - so that people who might one day need the Cancer Support and Awareness Trust, know that it’s here.

The Trust offers a listening/befriending service, and financial help with phone calls for those going overseas for cancer treatment. All money raised stays here in the Islands, for residents who need support.

The Trust was started in 1992 by a male Islander who, most unusually, had breast cancer. He had felt isolated and unsupported during his illness so, before he died, asked Mrs Theresa Lang to set up a charity to support local residents diagnosed with cancer. The Trust has six Trustees and is registered locally as a charity. It supports some six to eight new patients each year.

The Trust has two main activities:

• Trustees may be called upon to befriend, support and sometimes just listen to newly-diagnosed patients who wish to talk to someone other than family or medical staff. This support, which is offered to patients and their relatives, is completely confidential.
• The Trust’s other rôle is to help local residents receiving treatment overseas to keep in touch with their families here. We do this by providing BT phonecards and/or the loan of a mobile phone to the patient travelling overseas; we also provide cash grants towards overseas telephone calls and the loan of a fax machine to the families waiting here for news.

Because of patient confidentiality, we do not know of newly-diagnosed cases and can never approach people directly. It is therefore very important that we raise awareness of our existence so that people know we are here and can approach us if they need us.

The recently-departed Civil Military Liaison Officer, Squadron Leader Antony McCord RAF, arranged for a large cake to be baked and iced at Mount Pleasant. This was organised by Warrant Officer Hudson, and made by Corporal Paul Ashman, of Catering and Rations Squadron, Falkland Islands Support Unit. We are very grateful to the military for this fantastic support.

The event has been organised by the Trust’s Committee members. Contact Alison Ward (w.22264, h.21851) or Alex Sanders (w.22765, h.22130) for further information.

A Sanders 25 May 2003