Macmillan Cancer Support and Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust are launching a £1m appeal to help build a new £2.8m cancer support centre at Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro.

Macmillan has already committed £1.8m towards the Cove Macmillan Support Centre but are asking for help raising the remaining £1m .

The centre will "ensure that local people affected by cancer are able to access the dedicated, high-quality support facilities that they need".

A spokesman for the charity said: "There is currently no dedicated cancer support centre for the 420,000 people of Cornwall or the Isles of Scilly, which has meant people with cancer locally have been missing out on vital support.

"The new Cove Macmillan Support Centre will have a huge impact physically and emotionally on people with cancer and their family and friends."

"It is anticipated that it will receive at least 13,000 contacts or visits every year, helping those people who may not previously have been able to access support. There are estimated to be 22,000 people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly living with cancer today and this number is expected to rise to 43,000 by 2030 as our population ages and treatments improve.

"It is therefore vital that we are able to provide the best possible cancer care, covering all aspects of life, not just medical needs.

"The Cove Macmillan Support Centre has been designed with patients and their families in mind, with the simple goal of helping people affected by cancer to live their lives as well as possible. This will include information about how to cope with cancer and its treatment; a dedicated financial advice service; and crucially, help with remaining in, or returning to, work.

Anna Burton, who has been through treatment for breast cancer, said, “A support centre is desperately needed. Because we’re such a rural county, you need something right there to give you information, as soon as you’re diagnosed. A lot of people leave hospital and they don’t know where to go, what to do. I’m sure people would go home stronger and more able to face it if the information was there.”

Ed Murphy from Macmillan added: "Being diagnosed with cancer is one of the toughest things that anyone can face. Macmillan wants to make sure that no-one faces it alone, and the Cove Macmillan Support Centre will mean that people know where to go for help. But we won’t be able to do this without the generosity of the people of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly."

Lezli Boswell, chief executive of RCHT sais they are  delighted to be working in partnership with Macmillan "to ensure outstanding cancer care here in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly".

Adding: "We are very proud of our staff and volunteers who work in the cancer service and the Cove Macmillan Support Centre will enhance the quality of care we can provide to each and every person.”

Kathryn Radcliffe, lead cancer nurse at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust said: "There has been such a need for this new centre in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly for many years, so I am absolutely delighted that we can now announce that plans are underway.

"I am very excited about this new centre because I know that it is going to make such a difference to the lives of people with cancer in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.’

 For more details visit www.macmillan.org.uk/thecove call 0300 1000 200 or email fundraising@macmillan.org.uk.