Blackpool school support assistant becomes first person to use £1.3m Surface Guided Radiotherapy Treatment at Royal Preston Hospital.

A Blackpool school support assistant has become Rosemere Cancer Centre’s first patient to finish a course of treatment using its new £1.3m Surface Guided Radiotherapy system (SGRT) at Royal Preston Hospital.
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Ringing the cancer-free bell last week, Anita Brown, 68, who also works as a dinner lady at St Cuthbert's Catholic Academy, says she feels incredibly privileged to be the first patient to have underwent the treatment. The system, which aims to revolutionise radiotherapy, uses a near infra-red guiding light system to pinpoint with sub-mm precision the exact site at which radiation beams need to be targeted during radiotherapy treatment to best deliver a cancer destroying optimum dose of treatment while reducing the risk of damage to surrounding healthy cells. SGRT also reduces the need for multiple positioning scans, which in turn reduces patients’ overall exposure to radiation. It also does away with the need for permanent positioning tattoos on patients’ skin prior to radiotherapy treatment.

Anita, who was diagnosed with cancer last August after a recall from a routine mammogram in July showed up a lump in her left breast, said: "They found a mass in my left breast and I was told I had to have a biopsy but it didn't get all of it out and I would need a second operation via radiotherapy. I was the first person to use this amazing radiotherapy equipment and the journey has been amazing. It was incredible. I didn't know until I got there to my appointment and the hospital told me that I was the first person going to receive the treatment. I am honoured and privileged to have been the first to use this equipment. It is an amazing thing that has been offered to me which will help a lot of people in the future. The technology they use is just amazing and the hospital staff are incredible."

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Anita Brown from Blackpool has become Rosemere Cancer Centre’s first patient to start and finish a course of radiotherapy treatment using its new, £1.3 million SGRT – Surface Guided Radiotherapy systemAnita Brown from Blackpool has become Rosemere Cancer Centre’s first patient to start and finish a course of radiotherapy treatment using its new, £1.3 million SGRT – Surface Guided Radiotherapy system
Anita Brown from Blackpool has become Rosemere Cancer Centre’s first patient to start and finish a course of radiotherapy treatment using its new, £1.3 million SGRT – Surface Guided Radiotherapy system
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A Guiding Light appeal to launch the system started last May to mark Rosemere Cancer Centre’s and Rosemere Cancer Foundation’s joint Silver Jubilee, with a £1.3 million target to bring SGRT – Surface Guided Radiotherapy Treatment to the cancer centre for summer where various donations including a Walk in the Dark 2022 helped reach the sum.

Anita, who has worked at the school for over 30 years, added: "I should have retired three years ago through lockdown but I love what I do and it gets me out as all my children are grown and have flown the nest. I would urge people to get a mammogram as, without one, I would not have noticed this and lots of people don't get to my stage."

Dan Hill, chief officer at the Foundation, added: “The benefits of SGRT to patients both physically and psychologically are huge. There have been more than a hundred peer-reviewed published studies supporting its clinical efficacy but the equipment needed to provide it is above and beyond standard NHS provision, which is why it is still a rarity in this country. We wanted to do something special to mark our latest milestone birthday and we felt that this couldn’t be topped given the numbers of patients SGRT will benefit.”

Rosemere Cancer Foundation Centre is now the second centre in the north west - second to just The Christie in Manchester to provide SGRT.

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