Written by Janet Ibberson
The history of Bosom Pals and breast cancer treatment at Bedford Hospital are closely intertwined.
In 1994, Bedford Hospital appointed its first specialist breast care nurse, Gloria Shingler. One of her many plans was to set up a support group for ladies who had had breast cancer. About the same time two friends, Brenda Gilbert and Marie Crowe, who both worked at Bedford Hospital and both had been treated for breast cancer, with Gloria’s support, decided to set up a support group and so Bosom Pals Bedford was born. There was already a thriving support group at Milton Keynes Hospital and a lot of support and advice was gained from them.
Bosom Pals Bedford held monthly meetings at St. Andrew’s Church in Bedford. Marie, Brenda and Brenda’s daughters arranged speakers, refreshments etc. Sadly Brenda passed away, but her daughters continued to support Marie with the Group. Bosom Pals continued to thrive. Apart from a monthly subscription of £1.00 each, the only income for the group came from the raffle. To keep the group running, funds were also raised by sponsored walks and cake stalls held Saturdays outside the hospital’s Swannery Restaurant. Local charities were able to book a turn to hold a cake sale. The cake stalls were very popular with patients, visitors and staff and raised much needed funds.
The group continued to thrive and in 1996 it was decided to set up a committee to take a lot of the pressure off Marie. The committee decided that we needed some form of identification when we were fund raising and so the blue and gold sashes came into use. (Read “Why Blue & Gold?”)
The group had a variety of speakers. As funds were limited, we were fortunate to have many speakers who either made no charge or just their travel expenses. We also made use of the talents of our own members with craft evenings, flower arranging demonstrations etc.
We were very fortunate one year when Unipath chose us for their charity of the year. Unipath was an American company with premises in Bedford. The company had various events during a year and the parent company would match whatever the Bedford department raised. Unipath raised several thousand pounds which was kindly donated to Bosom Pals. It means that the group now has a healthy bank balance.
Husbands/partners have always been supportive.
The group had Christmas and summer dinners and Christmas socials to which partners were invited. We also were fortunate to have a summer barbecue in the lovely garden of Gloria and Tony Shingler. At the socials and bbq, husbands/partners would run the bar and commandeer the cooking of the bbq. Two of them, Rod King and Steven Franks, set up a partners’ support group. They do not hold regular meetings but will talk by telephone to arrange to meet and chat.
The routine three yearly mammograms were performed on mobile units around town. Tesco’s car park was one such location. If further investigations were indicated it meant a trip to Luton and Dunstable breast unit for further screening.
In 1994 Bedford Hospital had two breast surgeons, Mr. Parsons and Mr. Callum. They were also vascular surgeons. Mr. Parsons who performed my lumpectomy also operated on my husband’s varicose veins. Dr. James Watson (known to staff and patients as Jim) was the consultant oncologist.
There was no specialist breast unit or Primrose Unit. Chemotherapy was given on a Friday in out patients. There was a team of chemo nurses who travelled around the hospitals in the region administering chemo. Along with Bedford Hospital they also went to Northampton General, Luton and Dunstable and MK. The Friday Clinic at Bedford Hospital could run until 9pm.
Bedford Hospital Charities held various fund raising events to raise money to fund various projects including the Primrose Appeal to raise money for a specialist cancer centre. The funds were raised by local people, mainly with fairly small scale events such as jumble sales, quiz nights, garden parties etc. Adriana King’s sister, Marie, held numerous garden parties and raised a significant sum for the appeal.
Before the purpose built Primrose Unit was built, the hospital’s first ‘Primrose Unit’ was a portacabin that had been vacated by another department. This meant that chemo and other treatments could be administered in one place instead of in the hospital’s out patient department. Bosom Pals transferred their meetings to this portacabin. The advantage to the group was that we no longer had to pay hire charges for a hall.
The opening of the Primrose Unit and the Breast Care Unit at Bedford Hospital was a momentous occasion for local people as it meant treatment could be given locally.
Bosom Pals continues to thrive and still meets monthly. The group also has regular meet ups and social functions.
Hopefully this will continue for many years to come!
Also read: About Bosom Pals – Our Story written by founder member Marie Crowe.
