Observer readers have come up trumps after responding to an appeal to help raise the final £200,000 needed to build a £1.4million centre at Mount Vernon Hospital, and for vital drug trials.
A delighted Professor Gordon Rustin, director of medical oncology at the hospital in Rickmansworth Road, sent a heartfelt thank you to readers for their donations, which have flooded in following an article which appeared in August.
Professor Rustin added: "The money is still pouring in, plus some heart-warming letters.
"We are a bit behind in responding to everyone and getting a correct tally, but we are working on it."
Former patient Brian Abbott, who co-ordinates the Cancer Treatment And Reasearch Trust (CTRT) fundraising committee, said: "We were puzzled because we started to get in lots of donations which were not in our official pre-addressed envelopes.
"We then realised these new donations were coming in directly as a result of the appeal in the Observer Series."
They are now very close to having the money they need, thanks to people like Noel and Bridie Martin and
Tom and Sinead Roche, who raised £1,000 for the appeal at The Dolphin pub in Rockingham Road, Uxbridge.
Landlady Mrs Martin said: "We have an ongoing collection for charity all year round but this time the feature in the Uxbridge Gazette [the Observer's sister paper] caught my eye. I read about how they were so near their target but were getting exhausted. We know what that's like, when you've done everything you can, and you are only a small band." * To donate or for more details, write to: Brian Abbott, CTRT Appeal, The Clock Tower, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, Rickmans-worth Road, Northwood, HA6 2RN, email abbott3@ntlworld.com or call 07758 739 185.
Cheques should be payable to CTRT appeal.
