SOMERSET’S only mobile cancer unit has been relaunched after a successful appeal to raise £150,000 for its refurbishment.

During an event at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton on October 22, patients, volunteers and medical staff alike were able to see the new bus for the first time and to celebrate the launch.

Known as ‘Bumble’, the Taunton chemo bus brings cancer treatment to patients as far afield as Chard, Minehead, West Mendip and Bridgewater, treatments which would normally only be offered at Musgrove.

Living in a rural county, Somerset patients would often have to journey for hours to come into hospital, but the chemo bus has saved them a staggering 364,000 miles of travel since it was launched in 2010.

In March this year, 297 patients were treated on the bus, but the impact of the unit extends beyond just those cared for on board by helping to relieve the strain on the Beacon Day Unit at Musgrove Park. ‘It’s so frantic on the day unit’, said Ali Phelps-Beaumont, the unit’s coordinator. ‘The more people we can treat on the bus the better’.

Unsurprisingly, providing this service for Somerset does not come cheap: a mobile cancer unit costs an eye-watering £265,000 to set up, and £70,000 a year to maintain, not including the cost of the treatments themselves. More surprisingly, however, these costs are not absorbed by the NHS, but are paid for by Hope for Tomorrow, which relies on donations from the public.

Now eight-years-old, Bumble needed a new body at a cost of £150,000. This included an astonishing £50,000 anonymous donation, as well as fundraising by the local community and a donation from the Medlock Charitable Trust.

Claire Cosgrove, head of fundraising and communications, said: "After eight years of busy service by Bumble we were thrilled reach our appeal target of £150,000 which enabled us to rebuild and update Bumble.

"Thank you to everyone who raised money for our appeal, from The Medlock Charitable Trust through to all the fantastic individuals and community groups. We couldn’t have done it so quickly without you."

The event was tinged with sadness as those gathered remembered the recent passing of the founder of Hope for Tomorrow, Christine Mills.

Geoffrey Bray, a patron of the charity, said: "Christine Mills was a truly inspirational figure in setting up Hope for Tomorrow and I felt proud and privileged to be representing her at the relaunch."