OVER the last year Breast Cancer Haven Wessex has seen 254 visitors come through the door, and offered 2681 hours of therapy.

Now staff - some of who have experienced the disease first hand - are celebrating their successful first year.

And as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month the Daily Echo is celebrating the event by turning our entire Living section pink.

The group of support centres - which fundraise independently - was founded in 1997 by property developer Sara Davenport with the sole aim of helping women - and men - who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Titchfield centre is one of five around the country offering therapies, advice and counselling to the thousands of women battling the disease, completely free of charge.

After a suitable property was found in the peaceful village of Titchfield, work was started to totally renovate the grade II listed building, turning it from a run-down home into the peaceful treatment centre it is today in a £2.5 million Daily Echo-backed campaign.

Centre manager Marian Parfitt has 30 years’ experience in nursing, and joined the Haven Wessex in June 2015.

She meets visitors when they contact the Haven for their first l Continued on page 16 consultation, going on to devising programmes tailored specifically to their needs.

Anyone can self-refer to the centre where they can talk to experts about everything from financial worries to nutrition, receive a tailor-made programme of complementary therapies such as yoga and acupuncture, and meet others battling cancer.

There is a young women’s support group for the under 40s, where visitors can share their experiences and what they’re going through with others.

With services as comprehensive as tai chi, mindfulness classes, massage, acupuncture, pilates and yoga classes as well as one-to-one counselling, Marian is keen to stress that although the Haven offers a full range of complementary therapies, it isn’t another spa break.

She said: “This isn’t a place for someone to come for a pamper day.

“We are very much targeting the emotional and practical wellbeing of our visitors.

“We have got ladies coming here who had treatment ten years ago but still have symptoms. They might still have hot flushes, and the therapies we have here target very particular things - we can treat hot flushes with acupuncture and medical herbs.

“We can also do things like massage the pain caused by scars, massages specifically designed for scar tissue.

“We are actually giving them a course of a few treatments specifically targeted to their symptoms.

“It’s about improving somebody’s quality of life.

“And we get positive comments all the time - about how our services have really changed things for them or dealt with a particular kind of pain.

And it’s not just women who can be diagnosed with breast cancer - staff at the centre are also on hand to offer advice to men who have been diagnosed as well.

Other centres around the country are based in London, Hereford, Yorkshire, and Worcester, with a centre due to open in Solihull in 2017.

It costs The Haven £1,000 to provide each visitor with a programme of up to 10 therapy sessions.