More breast patients to be treated in outpatients thanks to charity’s latest buy
Patients from Preston and Chorley, who would have been admitted into hospital and taken into theatre for surgery to remove suspicious breast lesions and small breast tumours, may now be able to be treated on an outpatient basis thanks to new equipment bought for the Central Lancashire Breast Unit at Chorley and South Ribble Hospital by Rosemere Cancer Foundation.
The charity has spent £8,325 on an Akrus Mammography and Biopsy Positioning Chair, which enables a mammography guided procedure called Vacuum Assisted Excision (VAE) to be undertaken.
Consultant sonographer practitioner Kate Greenwood, who applied for the chair’s funding alongside lead mammographer Caroline Gawne, explained: “Avoiding a theatre-based surgical procedure in favour of VAE has many benefits for patients and a significant cost benefit to the trust.
“First and foremost, being treated as an outpatient rather than an in-patient reduces anxiety. Patients also don’t have to worry about having a general anaesthetic and its associated recovery. This makes VAE a consideration for those patients regarded as a high risk for anaesthesia because of other health issues.
“VAE is also a quicker procedure in comparison to surgical excision with reduced scarring potential. Also, it is quicker in terms of having it undertaken because the patient doesn’t have to wait for a theatre slot to become available and for a hospital appointment for pre-operative checks, which inevitably lead to a stressful delay.”
Kate added: “At the unit, we have been working to expand and develop our imaging breast intervention service of which VAE is part. However, the mammography chair we had did not have the adaptability to make VAE possible. Thanks to Rosemere Cancer Foundation, our new Akrus chair is fully positionable, meaning that VAE is a procedure we can now offer to our patients.”
Dan Hill, chief officer of Rosemere Cancer Foundation and head of charities for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to support the Radiology team at the Central Lancashire Breast Unit through funding an Akrus Chair to enable VAE. We know that many patients will breathe a sigh of relief at now being able to undergo VAE rather than having to be admitted into hospital and undergo a general anaesthetic.”
Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated not only at Rosemere Cancer Centre, which is Lancashire and South Cumbria’s specialist regional cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, but also at another eight local hospital cancer units across the two counties.
The charity funds cutting-edge equipment, clinical research, staff training and innovative services and initiatives that the NHS cannot afford in order to make patients’ cancer journey more effective, comfortable and stress-free. For further information on its work, including how to make a donation, visit www.rosemere.org.uk