Christie to offer thousands more cancer patients treatment at home
THOUSANDS more cancer patients are set to be offered treatment from the comfort of their own home following a successful scheme.
A specialist team at The Christie hospital, the renowned cancer centre in Withington, is already delivering lifesaving chemotherapy and immunotherapy at home for around 6,000 patients a year. And there are now plans to roll it out more widely, to up to 10,000 patients a year with breast, bowel, kidney, lung, prostate or melanoma skin cancer, the hospital’s trust has confirmed.
Experts say the service could be a way for other hospitals to help ease pressure caused by a backlog of patients who have seen procedures or treatments delayed during the pandemic, and prevent them having to come into hospitals where strict hygiene control and social distancing measures are still place.
The ‘Christie at Home’ service consists of 12 fully-qualified chemotherapy and immunotherapy nurses from the hospital. The drugs are delivered by a pharmacist and specialist nurses them administer them during the home visit.
In addition, they also offer thousands of treatments a year from other outreach services such as mobile units and regional clinics.
Stephanie Hechter, outreach service manager at The Christie, said: “The benefits of at-home treatment were even greater last year, when many patients were worried about coming to hospital.
“Our way, they get a time slot and one-on-one nursing care. It meant no one missed appointments - we were able to keep providing treatment as usual.”
Retired detective Bob Huntbach, 72, from Urmston, was one of those referred to the care of the home treatment team as part of his treatment for a melanoma, which he first spotted on his arm four years ago.
The dad-of-two, who also has five grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren, was due to go on a cruise for his 70 th birthday in 2018 when he had to undergo urgent surgery at The Christie.
Since then, Bob has had six lots of surgery on his arm including a skin graft.
His follow-up scans were clear, but in 2020, Bob felt a lump the size of a pea on his arm and another lump the size of a grape on his collar bone which subsequently grew rapidly.
Further surgery was considered, but felt to be unwise, and, since the summer of 2020, Bob has been receiving an immunotherapy infusion. This is a treatment given into a vein that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer.
After two having his first two immunotherapy infusions at The Christie, he was eligible to have the treatment through the at home service. In comments previously released by the trust, he said: “When I was going to The Christie’s Withington site for the treatment I basically had to write off a whole day.
“There was the driving to and from the centre during rush hour, the time finding somewhere to park, and then a lot of waiting – not that I’m complaining! My wife came with me, so that was a whole day for her too, and it’s very tiring when you are having treatment. “Now I have the treatment at home and it makes a huge difference. The medication is sent straight to my home two days before.
“Then I get a phone call to tell me what time the nurse is coming. Last time they were here by 9.30am and gone by 10.30am, so I had the rest of the day to spend with (his wife) Lynne.
“You get a one-to-one service with the nurse.
“They can answer all your questions about when the next blood test is due and when the next treatment is booked in. If there is anything I don’t understand or am concerned about, I can ask them, and if they don’t know, they will go away and find someone else who can help me.”