Tenovus Cancer Care

Improving the lives of all those affected by cancer across Wales and beyond.

Tenovus Cancer Care was founded in 1943 by 10 local businessmen coming together to help a friend in need. It is Wales’ leading cancer charity, and its eventful history has shaped it into the community-focused organisation it is today. Their vision is to give:

“anyone affected by cancer, in Wales and beyond, the best access to the treatment and support they need. A future that reduces the impact of cancer, gives people hope and helps them to live their best lives.”

The charity campaigns for improvements in treatments and outcomes for cancer patients in the UK, it provides funding to further advances in cancer research, and it empowers those affected by cancer through their support services.



The James Tudor Foundation has funded three projects at Tenovus since 2015. The first was to support the ‘Don’t Sit on It’ Saturday events on board their Mobile Support Unit. This involved a team travelling to twelve communities across Wales and England, to raise awareness of bowel cancer, which remains the second most common cause of cancer death in the UK. Members of the public were able to discuss any personal concerns with specialist nurses on board the unit and receive general advice about good bowel health. This project subsequently developed into the provision of innovative preventative and early detection clinics in the South Wales Valleys for people at high risk of the disease.

Patients report that the calls have a profoundly positive impact on their stress levels as well as on theirs and their carers’ wellbeing. An impressive 98% of service users rate the service 4 or 5 out of 5. Tenovus’ Lead Nurse, Rhian Jones, said:

“What our clients feed back to us is so important. Thanks to the James Tudor Foundation, we are fortunate to hear things like 'the nurses were so helpful and reassuring, this has helped me enormously as I have moved through my treatment. I am so impressed with the level of professionalism, kindness, and knowledge that you all have, and I can’t have imagined going through chemotherapy without you all.'"

“This amazing donation is going to help us support more people living with cancer in their homes thorough our Callback service. This comes at a time when we are expanding our service offer to more health boards across Wales. Our experienced nurses can offer advice on diagnosis, treatment, side-effects, and anything else that’s on the patients’ mind.”

As Rhian noted, the funding is enabling Tenovus to increase their capacity to make more calls and to build a robust evidence base for evaluation. In the first four months of the project, excellent progress has been made towards these goals, increasing nurse-led helpline hours from 40 to 79 per week resulting in an 18% increase in calls made. They are also making progress towards expanding the service into more hospitals. This will extend the charity’s reach even further and support more people through the difficult and uncertain time of cancer treatment.



We are excited to see what can be achieved in the remainder of the current grant period and beyond at Tenovus, as they continue to keep patient experience and support at the heart of all they do.