The house provides a home from home environment for relatives of leukaemia and stem cell transplant patients to stay overnight to save them the long distance they often have to travel to be with their loved ones.
The house has been named in memory of Graham Duncan who was treated for leukaemia in 2009. During Graham’s treatment his family and friends had to make the exhaustive 160-mile round trip from Barrow to Blackpool to visit him each day. It was during this time that Graham and his wife Liz came up with the idea of providing accommodation for families to stay so that they could be close to their loved ones throughout their treatment. Duncan House is just a five minute walk from the hospital.
Their idea was taken on board by the Trust who provided a house on the hospital site with the support of the Rosemere Cancer Foundation who provided a £30,000 grant to refurbish the house. The Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund also donated £16,500 for ongoing costs for the house. A special thank you goes to the Rosemere Cancer Foundation, the Kay Kendall Leukaemia Research fund, the Trust, the accommodation office and the fundraising department.
In 2022 further funding is being sought to transform the house in to self-contained apartments for patients and families.