About Us
A short video about our services and the work we do showing the inside of our Sheffield centre.
" Background
"What a wonderful place to come to, always welcome, always friendly – a haven of warmth from which you always emerge back out into the world feeling stronger, knowing somebody cares." Hazel
Cavendish Cancer Care believes that people affected by cancer have individual needs that cannot always be fully addressed by their health care providers and social support networks. We offer a place for people to go to talk, and someone to help them deal with the way cancer has affected them and their life. We are an independent charity established over 15 years ago giving free emotional support to people affected by cancer in Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
"I am feeling well and enoying my life. I appreciate life much more and feel back in control." Irene
Cancer survivors face numerous physical, psychological, social, spiritual and financial issues for the remaining years of their lives.
It is estimated that 1.2 million people in the UK are living following a diagnosis of cancer and, as cancer incidence rises and cancer mortality falls, the number of people living with cancer will grow significantly over the coming decade (1.5% of men and 2.5% of women in UK). As this group grows, so too will the number of people living after cancer.
Making a difference in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.…
"I hesitated before I visited the Cavendish, but everyone was so warm and friendly, before we knew it I was sitting down with a cup of tea!"
Making a difference…
People affected by cancer often feel a variety of emotions from fear, to anxiety, anger, depression and loneliness. We are here to help local people.
We will work with you and help you to: adjust to cancer, improve your emotional wellbeing and enrich your life.
Cavendish Cancer Care is free to everyone who needs us.
You may have just been diagnosed with cancer or have been living with its effects for a while. 
You might be caring for a partner or a parent who has cancer.
You might be a child or a young person whose parents or carers are affected by cancer.
While conventional medicine treats the disease, Cavendish Cancer Care takes care of the emotional affects of cancer, through complementary therapy and support.
Each year the number of people we help with our pioneering therapy support services grows by 10%.
Working in Partnership
We rely on our dedicated team of fundraisers, volunteers, and Charitable Trusts to help raise the funds we need to deliver our unique care and support packages. This, combined with the generous support we receive from the business community in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, ensures that we can continue to provide our services free of charge. Although we work closely with the NHS, the money they provide us would only keep us going for 12 days per year.
The Cavendish Cancer Care model of care is recognised by The Prince of Wales Foundation for Integrated Health as a ‘Model of Service Provision’ and our approach has been adopted by other charities all over the UK.
To meet the growing numbers of people coming to us for help we must plan to raise £1m per year by 2012.
Our Mission is ..
To help local people in Yorkshire and Derbyshire adjust to, cope with and ease the impact of living with cancer. We aim to improve the quality of local people's lives and enrich the emotional wellbeing of people touched by cancer in our region.
Our Values
- We offer free support to help you cope and adjust to living with cancer in Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
- Our trained professionals will work closely with you to give you individually tailored support at critical times.
- We will work with you to help you find ways to adjust, cope and improve the quality of your life.
- We offer a free service.
- Appointments are usually within 5 days.
- We work closely with the NHS, Hospices and Primary Care to ensure the highest quality of care for people affected by cancer.
- We aim to help you feel more in control, restore your confidence and your ability to cope with life.
- We aim to broaden our services to reach new clients in new areas.
Cavendish Centres
The Cavendish Centre, Wilkinson Street, Sheffield
Weston Park Hospital, Sheffield
Macmillan Palliative Care Unit at Northern General Hospital, Sheffield
Ashgate Hospice, Chesterfield
Rotherham Cancer Care Centre, Rotherham
In The Beginning…….
Cavendish Cancer Care developed from the work of David Simons, a Sheffield dentist specialising in hypnosis in the management of patients' pain, anxiety and fears. Medical colleagues would refer patients suffering from a wide range of problems, and through the 1980s, he noted that an increasing number of these patients were suffering from the effects of cancer.
Through his work David became aware of the many different concerns that could accompany a patient's illness, the lack of safe, qualified and experienced support then available, and the importance of working in partnership with mainstream cancer care providers. These, and other lessons, were instrumental in his decision to set up the Centre.
In 1990 he retired from dentistry and gathered together a small team of professionals from medical, nursing and clinical psychology backgrounds, all with a shared interest in the emotional, physical and psychosocial problems relating to cancer. After much planning and research, a pilot scheme was started where individual and group therapy sessions were undertaken in some rented rooms.
In 1992, the Centre became a registered charity with the support of the Duke of Devonshire, with at its core the provision of treatment to all who need it free of charge. The Duke was kind enough to lend his family name and the Cavendish Centre was born. In 1997 with demand for services outstripping facilities available, a move was made to the current home in Wilkinson Street with Prince Charles performing the official opening.
Today, still based from Wilkinson Street and offering services across Yorkshire and Derbyshire, Cavendish Cancer Care goes from strength to strength.
Annual Reports
Annual Report 2007