Fosseway Artists are supporting the Cobalt Appeal, Cheltenham and will be donating 15% of the proceeds of all sales made during their 100th Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture to this charity. We will also be selling a special commemorative catalogue in celebration of this milestone event and will be donating the profit to the Cobalt Appeal.

Cobalt, how it all began


Cobalt was founded in 1964 by Dr Fred Hanna, who launched a public appeal along with other doctors at Cheltenham General Hospital to build a radiotherapy unit (Cobalt Unit) in Cheltenham, as the nearest at the time was 50 miles away in Bristol.

The charity today


Cobalt is a medical charity helping people affected by cancer, dementia and other conditions through its sophisticated and innovative scanning equipment that uses the latest technology.

Each year the charity provides diagnostic imaging for over 65,000 patients at their Imaging Centres in Cheltenham and Birmingham and through their fleet of six mobile MRI scanners that travel throughout the three counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and beyond.

The equipment and services offered are not generally available within the NHS. The Imaging Centre in Cheltenham houses the UK's first high field Open MRI scanner, designed for claustrophobic and larger patients; a high definition 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner; a state-of-the-art PET/CT scanner; and the world’s first open extremity Cone Beam CT scanner. The mobile MRI fleet includes two of Europe's first and only 3.0 Tesla MRI scanners and new 1.5 Tesla wide bore MRI systems. These units have been built to improve patient comfort, enable shorter scanning times, and deliver superior image quality.

The charity invests in research, equipment and education which aims to deliver improvements in clinical diagnosis in the future. They work closely with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham to deliver a state-of-the-art imaging centre primarily for research scanning for the Institute of Translational Medicine.

Cobalt delivers a programme of local, national and international training and education events for medical professionals. In addition the charity's Cancer Prevention Team visit schools, colleges, businesses, social clubs and community groups within the Three Counties to discuss preventative measures and to raise awareness.

For more information about any aspect of Cobalt, call (01242) 535910, email enquiries@cobalthealth.co.uk, or visit cobalthealth.co.uk directly, you can also make a donation on their website.