Your views

WRITE TO: Your Views, Cynon Valley Leader, Six Park Street, Cardiff CF10 1XR. E-mail: cynon.valley.leader@walesonline.co.uk All contributors MUST include their name and address and a daytime telephone number

Wear a ribbon to show you care

YOU may not know, but September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM), and at CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people, we are asking locals to get behind our campaign to raise vital funds and awareness.

For CCAM, we have revealed the “hidden costs” of cancer through the impact it has on the mental and emotional health of parents.

Our new research found that more than half of parents (63%) said they experienced depression during their child’s treatment, more than a third (37%) experienced panic attacks, 84% experienced loneliness. Worryingly, less than 40% of parents accessed support for managing stress and anxiety during their child’s treatment.

To show your support for these families during CCAM you can get a gold ribbon by donating on our website.

The money raised will help provide vital support for families of children and young people living with cancer.

It’s tough seeing your child go through cancer. Get your gold ribbon today to show your support and help more families cope.

We are also inviting people to help us fight for change for young people with cancer and their families by becoming CLIC Sargent campaigners.

This might involve signing a petition, making noise on social media or writing to your MP.

For more information please visit: www. clicsargent.org.uk/ccam Cerys Sadler CLIC Sargent Fundraising and Engagement Manager for South and Mid Wales

More pressure on NHS funds

IN the light of Wales seeing a 400% rise in patients waiting more than 12 months for surgery, the Welsh Assembly Government must surely reconsider their intention not to debate and vote in the Assembly Chamber on their intention to use NHS funds to give free abortions to travelling Northern Irish women.

The latest letter I have received on this matter from the Assembly Health and Social Services Group states “The Welsh Government strongly supports women’s right to choose to have abortion”, and “We believe that any woman who chooses to have an abortion is free to do so and as a Government we respect their individual decision and will not do anything to stop them making this choice.”

Under the terms of the 1967 Abortion Act abortion is till only legal in certain circumstances, although we know that the Act is being almost entirely abused, this is clearly seen by the abortion rate annually in the UK of 200,000 abortions and of these more than 8,000 annually in Wales.

These are almost entirely financed again out of Welsh NHS funds. Perhaps even if people on long Welsh NHS waiting lists have little regard for the loss of innocent unborn human life, financed by the Welsh NHS, they surely will object to this extra pressure on NHS funds. Paul Botto, SPUC Information Officer (Wales/Cymru) Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, Cardiff

Stark reality of EU divorce bill

I’M so glad some newspapers are not running the country or involved in the Brexit talks with the EU.

They stir up the reader’s blood over how bad Europe is and that the UK shouldn’t pay a penny towards the divorce bill. Now the same papers accept the UK will have to dig deep into public money to settle its obligations with the EU.

Now there is a government leaked paper on how they are going to send back non-UK low-paid workers. Good news to all those unemployed leave voters who blamed foreigners for their lack of job opportunities.

Now they can work in those low-paid jobs or face having their money stopped for refusing to accept these jobs. Andrew Nutt Bargoed