I am one of the one-in-nine women to develop cancer of the breast in the course of her lifetime. As a result, three weeks ago I had a complete mastectomy at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

Thanks to the physical and emotional care and support of the specialised surgical and nursing team, I now look forward with confidence to a long and happy future.

Until recently, I had to travel to Worthing for my breast problems. It was at the Princess Royal that the specialist made the initial diagnosis of the disease and referred me to the Royal Sussex in Brighton, which confirmed it. I had waited four weeks for the biopsy at the Royal Sussex but only three weeks for the operation at the Princess Royal. This included a delay of one week while the breast cancer team attended an international breast cancer conference. To have surgeons with the most up-to-date knowledge could only be to my advantage.

But the over-riding priority must be for the women who do not know they have the disease and those who will develop it. A centre of excellence must be set up as quickly as possible where there is expertise, compassion and the shortest possible waiting list. Early diagnosis and speed of treatment are vital in the treating of any cancer.

My biopsy at Brighton showed me that care and compassion exist in both hospitals. The surgical teams in both hospitals attended the same cancer conference to acquire the same levels of knowledge. I am pretty certain the distance between the hospitals is the same for patients travelling from Mid Sussex to Brighton as in the other direction. However, waiting times are much shorter in Haywards Heath, where there is spare capacity, and a unit can be set up there three years before anything can be established in Brighton. These must be the overwhelming criteria.

Support for us will still be there, wherever the unit is sited, but we must think of the future of all women and not just ourselves.

-Helen Anthony, Croxton Lane, Lindfield, Haywards Heath