A FURTHER 1,000 people have backed the campaign to keep urology cancer surgery in Colchester.

NHS England is to create one specialist centre in Essex to provide the surgery and it is expected to be in either Southend or Colchester.

The Gazette is campaigning for the trailblazing team to remain in Colchester.

A petition set up to gain support has reached the 6,000 mark.

              SIGN THE PETITION HERE.

More than 1,200 people have add their support online, along with nearly 2,000 letters and coupons sent to the Gazette offices in Colchester.

In addition, more than 2,300 signatures have been added to the petition and now the Robin Freeman Cancer Trust has collected a further 700.

The trust was set up in memory of inspirational Robin Freeman who died, aged 24, from a rare form of cancer.

The trust aims to raise awareness of germ cell cancer in youngsters.

Volunteers collected signatures for the petition at Colchester Carnival, Kelvedon Music Festival and Wix fete.

Trust chairman Toby Freeman, Robin’s brother, said: “We had a brilliant response from the community.

“There was outrage at the suggestion of losing the urology cancer surgery from Colchester and a strong feeling it should be kept here.

“We heard people’s stories and everyone felt it was a worthy cause.

“The centre already supports 700,000 people in north Essex. The feeling was, ‘how can you move that?’”

The Gazette plans to present the petition to Alan Rose, chairman of Colchester Hospital University Foundation Trust next month.

The trust will present it to NHS England as part of its submission to run the specialist centre.

NHS England is expected to make a decision later this year with a view to the centre being up and running next year.

If it is decided to place it in Southend, it will mean a round trip of more than 120 miles for patients in Tendring needing surgery for urology cancer, including for operations on prostates and kidneys.

The Colchester trust has already invested more than £250,000 in creating a centre with surgeons carrying out innovative operations.

  • Please return all petition forms to the Gazette, newsroom, Unit 1, Brunel Court, Brunel Way, Severalls Industrial Estate, Colchester, CO4 9XP by August 10.