For the second year running the Breast Care Unit at the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust has benefited from the energetic fundraising of breast cancer survivor Lorna Ponti and her eight-strong committee of friends.

Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust’s Business Unit Manager for General Surgery and Urology Charlotte Freeman is pictured here with Consultant Surgeon Ms Sunita Shrotria and Lorna Ponti, who presented a cheque for £25,000 to Ms Shrotria for the Breast Unit.

Their annual Lunch for Life, held at the Wentworth Club, raised £25,000 for the Breast Care Unit – and £15,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.  Last year the lunch raised £15,000 for the unit and £9,000 for Cancer Research UK.

Said Lorna: “Once again we had tremendous support from very many people.  Our thanks go to all those who donated gifts for the auction, so brilliantly carried out by Guy Charrison.  We benefited from super prizes for the raffle, awarded by professional golfer Roger Chapman and, of course, our thanks go to all those who bought tickets for the Lunch for Life and who gave of their time and talents so generously to make the day such a success.”

The event began with a welcoming glass of champagne.  Jazz singer Elle Parker, backed by musicians Toby Cruse and DavidHorniblow, donated their time to provide entertainment during the three-course meal, attended by more than 300 people. Speeches by Consultant Breast Surgeon Ms Sunita Shrotria and Sue Tiplady of Macmillan Cancer Support outlined the progress made in the fight against cancer and both speakers thanked Lorna and her team for their valuable support. 

Lorna, a Wentworth resident who underwent extensive treatment for breast cancer in 2005, was determined that once she regained her strength she would put her renewed energies into fundraising projects that would benefit other local women facing a similar battle – and the annual Lunch for Life was born! 

The donation will go into the Breast Unit Fund which not only provides equipment but also finances continuing education for breast team staff and research. A £250,000 digital mammography machine looks set to be funded by the Trust and the Fund and other items on the Breast Unit “shopping list” include, a £11,000 Microaire machine used in reconstruction surgery, a £10,000 hand-held ultrasound machine and a £3,950 Areola pigmentation machine used to create the illusion of a nipple and areola in patients who have undergone a mastectomy.

Said Ms Shrotria: “To receive such a generous donation for the second year running from the Lunch for Life ladies is more than generous.  We know that a great deal of hard work went into organising the event and they do deserve a public “Thank you”.

“The support and encouragement is very much appreciated. We use such donations in many ways: to improve the service; for putting nurses on courses; for extra equipment and for research and for extra equipment to offer refinements in breast reconstructive surgery. “

Anyone wishing to make a donation or wanting more information can contact the committee through This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  The Lunch for Life committee is made up of Lorna Ponti, Christina Gale, Jacci Cleghorn, KamMann, Mary Mitchell, Liz Sheikh and Ann Tanner and Zara Redhead.