HIGHWORTH’S Rosemary Jackson has single handedly raised more than £4,000 to help fund a cutting-edge breast cancer treatment.

The Great Western Hospital Trust’s charity, Brighter Futures, is trying to raise £75,000 to fund a year’s worth of intra-operative radiotherapy treatment to help change the lives of the 150 women a year in Swindon who recover from breast cancer.

The treatment zaps areas affected by breast cancer with radiotherapy while patients are still in the operating room, which means they don’t have to have to travel to Oxford every day for weeks to receive a traditional course of radiotherapy.

Rosemary, 79, who had a mastectomy after being diagnosed with the disease, said that the new treatment would help hundreds of women to recover from the disease.

She said: “So many people who have breast cancer have to travel back and forth to Oxford to get radiotherapy and this new treatment will put an end to all the suffering it causes.

“It’s enough of a shock you have to go through when you have been diagnosed with cancer and then you find out that you have to travel all the way to Oxford for radiotherapy.

“The new treatment will really make a difference to so many people and, after the care I received, I just wanted to give something back.”

Rosemary, who is also a member of the Highworth Lions Club, managed to raise more than £4,000 in just three months by holding raffles and other fundraisers.

She said: “I am a member of the Highworth Lions Club so I asked other clubs in the area if they would donate as well. Calne Lions gave £1,000, Lechlade Lions gave £500 and our club gave £500.

“And then we auctioned 12 Easter eggs in different venues like the local pubs and shops and that raised another £1,000.”

Jen Green, the head of fundraising for Brighter Futures, said: “We very much appreciate the public getting behind our new breast cancer treatment appeal.

“We are delighted and amazed at the commitment that Rosemary and the Highworth Lions have made to our cause.

“We are very grateful for this support which will take us closer to meeting our target and we simply couldn’t do it without the support of local people such as Rosemary and her colleagues.”