New centre will make real difference to lives T
HE current Covid-19 pandemic has brought innumerable difficulties for the entire population of the UK and indeed the world. The way we treat cancer has been forced to change dramatically in just a few weeks.
Alongside patients we are making incredibly difficult decisions regarding treatment.
The ambitious Christie at Macclesfield project was launched long before “Coronavirus” was part of our vocabulary and will continue long after it has left. It is fantastic to be able to offer a positive future for cancer services at this very difficult time.
I am delighted to be involved in the development of the new centre and it will mean that by the end of next year patients here in Macclesfield and the surrounding area will be able to receive their treatment closer to home.
April is bowel cancer awareness month and this is just one of the cancers that this centre will help treat. I feel that this is a good opportunity to reflect on the fantastic progress that has been made over the last 20 years in treating this disease. In the UK, someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer every 15 minutes.
It is most common in the over 50s but can affect people of any age.
Thanks to advances in surgical techniques, drug treatments and radiotherapy the disease is now very treatable and curable, particularly for those with early stages.
One significant improvement in detecting bowel cancer early has been the introduction of the national bowel cancer screening programme which was introduced in 2006 and invites all people aged 55 and over to be tested.
This initiative has led to an increase in detection rates and therefore has saved lives by allowing us to treat pre-cancerous conditions and early stage cancers which may otherwise have presented at a more advanced stage.
That said, as an oncologist I regularly see and treat people with a more advanced stages of the disease.
I hold a weekly clinic in Macclesfield where I discuss treatments including chemotherapy and radiotherapy with patients. At present we have an excellent chemotherapy unit within the Macmillan centre on the Macclesfield District General Hospital site.
This means some patients are able to receive their treatment without travelling to Manchester, which is a huge benefit to them. However, capacity is limited and currently there are no radiotherapy facilities. This will change thanks to The Christie at Macclesfield.
At the start of treatment there are a lot of appointments for assessment and planning, not to mention the actual chemotherapy treatments which can be every two weeks and radiotherapy can be every day.
It is a big ask for patients and their families to travel for what can be a 30 mile round trip to receive this treatment when they are not feeling well. For some patients where treatment is being given to improve pain control the travelling is prohibitive and they ultimately decline treatment.
The new centre will be home to a brand new chemotherapy unit which will increase capacity and thereby reduce waiting times. There will also be two state of the art radiotherapy machines with specification to deliver highly technical treatment including stereotactic radiotherapy (SABR).
For patients with advanced bowel cancer, SABR is being used increasingly to target a limited number of sites of spread of disease outside of the bowel (e.g. Liver, lung or lymph nodes). Studies have shown these treatments help people live longer with advanced disease.
Many people who have bowel cancer are over the age of 75. Some of these patients have complex needs in addition to their cancer treatment so I’m delighted to be able to tell you that the new centre will be set up with this in mind.
There will be an assessment service for older patients to help to address these needs and we’ll work closely with local GPs and community teams to offer specific increased support whilst these patients receive treatment for cancer.
This will undoubtedly help these patients to complete their planned treatment with hopefully fewer problems and complications and maintaining their quality of life.