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Ystrad Mynach’s new ‘state-of-the-art’ breast cancer unit is on course to be completed before the end of the year.

The unit is set to open at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr in December, with work having started last year.

It will be based in a new hospital building, which will be connected to the main hospital by a glass corridor.

The new building will have a variety of consultation, examination, ultrasound, radiology, mammogram, treatment and counselling rooms, along with a reception and waiting area – as well as changing rooms and toilets.

There will also be room for offices, staff facilities and a volunteer café.

Eight car parking spaces at the hospital will be lost to accommodate the new building, but 13 additional spaces will be provided, including two electrical charging points.

While the unit is being funded by the Welsh Government, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board set up a fundraising group – The Friends of the ABUHB Breast Unit – to raise £200,000 towards additional services for the unit.

The voluntary group, which is no longer active since building work began, was made up of breast cancer survivors who set about fundraising for extra services the NHS was unable to provide.

In total, the group helped raise more than £250,000. It is hoped the extra funding will go towards creating a more comfortable environment within the unit for patients and families, with custom designed rooms and a centre of excellence.

According to ABUHB, breast care units within its area are the busiest in Wales, seeing more than 6,000 patients a year, with around 500 cancers being diagnosed annually.

Currently, breast services run from outpatient spaces at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport and Nevil Hall Hospital in Abergavenny.

The idea is to bring breast cancer services in Gwent under one roof with the creation of a ‘centre of excellence’ in Ystrad Mynach.

Plans for the breast centre were first approved by the health board in 2016, with an outline business case to support its construction back in 2020.