Over 45 years of whole-person cancer care.
We’re the cancer health and wellbeing charity. Since 1980 we have supported people to live well with cancer, in mind, body, spirit and emotions, alongside NHS treatment, and always free at the point of need.
Helping people live well, whatever cancer throws at them.
Our services are built around a simple belief: that mental, physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing matter every bit as much as medical treatment. From one-to-one sessions to group programmes, online and in person, our support complements NHS treatment and meets people wherever they are.
Started by Penny.
Carried on by all of us.
When Penny Brohn was diagnosed with breast cancer in her thirties, she could not find the kind of care she wanted: care that saw the whole of her, not just the disease. So together with her friend Pat Pilkington, she created it.
In 1983 they opened the UK’s first centre for whole-person cancer care. Over forty-five years on, that same care, free, warm and rooted in evidence, reaches thousands of people every year, online and at the Penny Brohn Cancer Care Centre near Bristol.
“If you have cancer, you need to find a way to live with it that feels like you. We wanted to help people do that.”
Penny Brohn, 1980
The beginning
Penny Brohn and Pat Pilkington establish the charity and its pioneering approach to cancer support.
Bristol Cancer Help Centre
The charity opens the UK’s first centre for whole-person cancer care.
Royal patronage
The Prince of Wales, now HM King Charles III, becomes our patron.
Ham Green House
After relocating in 2006, we open our new cancer care centre at Ham Green House, a Grade II listed house set in four acres of gardens near Bristol.
Going online
We take our whole programme online, reaching people across the UK in the places they feel safest.
Reaching further
We support over 5,000 people a year and work with 40+ NHS Trusts and referral partners.
Four things we live by.
These aren’t words on a wall. They shape how we design our services, how we welcome every person through our doors, and what we ask of the people who work with us.
Ambitiousfor the future
We’re shaping a future where whole-person care sits alongside medical treatment for everyone affected by cancer.
Open toeveryone
Free services, and something here for everyone affected by cancer. Whoever you are, whatever your diagnosis, you’re welcome.
Findingthe joy
Cancer is heavy. Moments of laughter, beauty and play aren’t a distraction. They’re part of the medicine.
Strongertogether
Clients, practitioners, volunteers, supporters: every person who walks through our door makes this community what it is.
Meet the people at the helm.
Our senior team brings together decades of experience in cancer care, charity leadership and community services.
Latest news and stories.
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Read moreBe part of our next chapter.
Whether you’d like support for yourself, want to volunteer, or are thinking about leaving a gift in your will, we’d love to hear from you. Every conversation matters.