A CANCER charity has launched a £600,000 appeal in Dorset to help fund four vital posts.

Macmillan Cancer Relief hopes to raise the sum to help pay for the healthcare professionals - including one in Dorchester - over the next three years.

The Macmillan Appeal for Dorset aims to ensure that people living with cancer and their families receive the best quality of care.

Organisers hope to raise enough money to fund a Macmillan oncology dietician, based at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, who will ensure people with cancer understand how diet can strengthen their body and the way it responds to cancer treatments.

They also hope to fund:

A welfare benefits officer working with the Citizens Advice Bureau in Poole, who will provide information, support and advice to help people deal with and understand the costs of cancer.

A part-time physiotherapist based at Poole Hospital, who will work with people whose cancer, or its treatment, has affected their mobility or strength.

A skin cancer nurse specialist looking after people with skin cancer at the Royal Bournemouth Hospitals.

At the appeal launch Linda Baldrey, lead cancer nurse and service improvement facilitator at Dorset County Hospital, explained how having a Macmillan oncology dietician in Dorset will raise awareness of how having the right nutrients in their diet can enable people with cancer to take action, strengthen and prepare their bodies to deal with the effects cancer treatment can have.

Valerie Wallace, fundraising manager for Macmillan Cancer Relief in Dorset, said: "This is an exciting major new appeal in Dorset that can really help to improve the quality of care people living with cancer and their families in Dorset can benefit from.

"We hope that people in the local community will want to support people living with cancer by finding out more about the appeal and how they can help us reach our target by April, 2007.

"With more than one in three people being diagnosed with cancer, there is an urgent need for us to provide much needed support and care locally."

Anyone interested in helping the appeal is urged to send cheques payable to Macmillan Appeal for Dorset to Macmillan Appeal for Dorset, PO Box 1541, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 4YB.