Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones has lent his support

The �1.8m centre will be based at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and will house a 10 bed ward to treat teenagers from south and mid Wales.

Patients in north Wales already have access to a similar facility in Liverpool, but there have been calls for some time for similar facilities to be provided in the south.

It will be the first time specific provision has been made for treating teenagers with cancer in Wales and will put a stop to teenagers being treated alongside young children or geriatrics.

According to the Teenage Cancer Trust - which is behind the plan - between 1999 and 2001 there were 270 cases of cancer in the 14-23 age group in Wales.

A Welsh donor has already given �650,000 and the trust has pledged �650,000 from its central funds for the unit.

A fundraising drive to meet the remainder of the cost is launched on Monday. Around �500,000 is still needed.

The project has the support of celebrities like Kelly Jones, lead singer with the Stereophonics.

Around 1,500 teens develop cancer in the UK each year

"The work that Teenage Cancer Trust is doing is vital and it is great that they made a commitment to Wales where there are currently no specific facilities for teenagers with cancer," he said.

"I have supported the charity for a few years now through performances at the Royal Albert Hall and I have always loved the idea that through our music we can give something back that directly benefits the kids and such a good charity."

The new unit will be called Skypad, and will be designed with a futuristic appearance.

It will be built on stilts between the adult and the paediatric centres at UHW.

Teenagers from south and mid Wales are usually cared for on wards alongside children or much older patients and the Trust says the new facility - which will be equipped with the latest technology - will be designed specifically to satisfy the needs of teenagers.

Computers and high-tech games will help keep them entertained while they are receiving treatment. There will also be a kitchen to allow the teenagers and their parents and friends to feel more at home.

Ward problems

Although young people develop specific types of cancer and have different medical and psychological needs, they are usually treated with children or adults.

Leukaemia, lymphoma and brain tumours are the most common types of cancer affecting children and teenagers.

Three-quarters of the teenagers questioned for a recent survey for the Teenage Cancer Trust said they had been put in wards with young children or adults. Most would have preferred to be in wards with other adolescents.

Dr Meriel Jenney, a consultant paediatric oncologist at the University Hospital of Wales said teenagers and young adults had particular needs which are different to those of adults and children.

"They need specialist care because of the rarity of the tumours they get and also for the particular psychological and social problems they experience," she said.

"Their lives are changing - they are moving from education to the world of work and they have cancer on top of that. It can be a very difficult time for them."