Claires Court and The Alexander Devine Cancer Trust

For our BBC school report we interviewed a representative from the Alexander divine cancer trust called Janet Brewer. The charity was set up in the memory of Alexander who was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour in November 2001 at the tender age of four. After being diagnosed he endured numerous operations treatments and chemotherapy. Alexander finally lost his battle with the cancer and died in 2006.

Claires Court Boys with Janet Brewer.

Janet Brewer with the Claires Court Boys.

This charity was then set up in memory to Alexander in the hope that many other families dealing with a similar problem would have someone to turn to, preferably local.

So far there have been no child hospices in Berkshire due to a lack of funds. Family’s would have to travel up to 40 miles to get to the closest hospice, but hopefully with the growing support from friends, family and the public there will be a change in the distant future.

Janet tell the Claires Court Boys about the Trust.

The Alexander House will be a home from home environment providing respite and quality time for the whole family, palliative care, specialist respite care, 24 hour emergency care, advice and bereavement information and support for the family. The charity hopes that the building work will start in 2011, and there main priority for 2010 is to find land to build the hospice. At the moment the charity has one fully qualified nurse called Lucy Jones who goes out and visits children in mainly East Berkshire. She is like a friend to the children and they tell her most things which they do not tell their parents. You can see her with Michael Parkinson in the picture below.