Appeal a family affair for Laurie

This year the Sheffield charity Cavendish Cancer Care has seen its 20,000th client - and the links to one of its first are stronger than ever.

In 1991, founder David Simons ran a hypnotherapy practice working with clients affected by cancer.

One of the first people he saw was Phillipa Cottam, a young mother living in Sheffield, and she was one of David’s main inspirations for launching the charity.

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Phillipa, who had breast cancer, later died after developing a secondary form of the disease.

Her son Laurie, aged 28, who was only three when he lost his mother, recently qualified as an architect and is working on the project to help Cavendish relocate to a new centre on Wilkinson Street in Broomhall.

The charity is running a campaign, backed by the Sheffield Telegraph, to collect £193,000 to fund the move.

Already more than £56,200 has been raised.

Laurie, whose father David is a director at the scheme’s architects, Race Cottam Associates, said: “People want to go to a place that’s a safe haven. I’ve been working with Cavendish to offer somewhere that feels like a home and completely removed from a hospital ward.

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“I was only young when my mum passed away, but it feels like I am making a difference to the charity that had such an effect on her and my dad.”

n To donate to the appeal visit The Cavendish Centre Capital Appeal or call 0114 275 4070.