PATIENTS in Bolton are appealing for a specialist cancer centre to receive some tender loving care.

Health bosses from Royal Bolton have been told to pull a green-finger out at the Churchill Oncology Unit.

A former patient at the unit, known as Jean, has asked the trust to help clean up its garden.

Speaking at the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust board meeting, the 73-year-old from Bury explained how it provided her with a life-line while undergoing chemotherapy.

She said: “I attended Churchill for treatment every three weeks.

“My family members tidied the garden at the unit. Sadly it is not taken care of by the hospital gardening team.

“When it is not over-grown it is a lovely place for patients to sit and enjoy the sunshine.”

Jean was diagnosed with third stage aggressive cancer of the left breast in April last year.

She underwent an operation before starting chemotherapy in July at the unit, and later became a volunteer with the team.

A love of gardening and the outdoors meant she eventually took the garden under her wing.

She added: “Throughout the treatment I felt okay. The only side-effects apart from hair loss was an extremely dry mouth and sore throat. I could still care for the grandchildren, walk the dog and do gardening.

“I cannot emphasise enough how much they support people, going beyond treatment.”

Her daughter also praised the staff at the unit and asked for more to be done to improve the patients’ environment.

She said: “What surprised me the most is the joy. You expect a cancer unit to be morbid, depressing place but it is really a place of joy.

“Because treatment sometimes takes many hours, mum would sit on a bench in the garden and tell us where to weed and dig and cut, and on a sunny day it’s great to see other patients to sit out there.

“Cancer treatment is is not all about chemotherapy, it’s about being able to relax and be happy. The garden is a big part of that.

“Sadly it is currently it is currently infected with horsetail weeds, which if you know about gardening is a killer for gardens. I would ask for you to get some professional gardeners in and take some time to care for it.”

The Churchill Unit is based in the hospital grounds and provides treatments such as chemotherapy for cancer patients and care for patients and their families.

Board members said the story was a reminder that ‘small things’ like gardening were equally important to patients as medical treatment as they provided therapeutic care.

They agreed to improve the care of the garden, including having the weeds removed.