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Mowgli serves up more than £30,000 to help cancer patients try to prevent hair loss
Cancer patients across Gloucestershire will now have more help available to try to prevent hair loss during their treatment thanks to a massive donation by the Cheltenham restaurant.
Generous customers and staff at Mowgli Street Food in the Brewery Quarter have been busy for months raising thousands of pounds for the Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity.
They have amassed an incredible £33,000 which has funded a new scalp cooling machine for patients with cancer. Scalp cooling involves patients wearing a cold cap during treatment sessions such as chemotherapy to limit blood flow to the head, a method which can prevent drugs from reaching the hair and causing hair loss.
Gloucestershire Hospitals’ Matron of Oncology, Haematology and Immunology, Catherine Harker said: “For many people, hair loss is a common side effect of cancer treatment and it can really impact a patient’s confidence and sense of self.
“Scalp cooling offers the hope of retaining some or all of their hair to patients, both women and men, giving them a chance at living a life closer to normal. It doesn't cure cancer or stop other treatment side effects, but it does help patients to go about their daily lives without feeling constantly reminded of their illness. They can look in the mirror and see themselves rather than their illness.”
The machine can benefit two patients at the same time, and thanks to the generous support of donors, is one of four funded by the charity to help local cancer patients during their treatment.
Staff at the Indian restaurant raised the money through customer donations as well as fundraising through a bake sale and taking part in the charity’s Walk for Wards event.
Mowgli Cheltenham have supported Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity’s Oncology fund Focus since opening their doors in 2021. It is incredible to see the impact the donations from the Mowgli Trust have had so far. Mowgli exists to enrich lives, not only of her teams but of the communities which she serves. If the scalp cooling caps can help even one person to keep a sense of their identity through this challenging journey, then Mowgli has achieved her purpose. We are incredibly proud of our Cheltenham team and this partnership, supporting the Oncology Centre and all of the people within their care.
Abbey Hides, Charities Coordinator at Mowgli Street Food
More than 5,000 people have chemotherapy and other treatments each year in the Gloucestershire Oncology Centre and the scalp cooling machines are in high demand from patients.
Everyone at the charity is incredibly grateful to the team at Mowgli and their customers for their amazing efforts to raise such a huge amount to directly help more patients who are undergoing cancer treatment in Gloucestershire. We cannot thank them enough for their support.
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