Providing the latest in medical equipment

Your donations help to fund a variety of equipment which is vital to remaining at the forefront of medical care and research. One example of what your support brings to The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is ‘Surface Guided Radiotherapy’ (SGRT). This innovative technology helps to remove the need to apply permanent tattoos to patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Radiotherapy is a common treatment, which involves focussing high energy x-rays onto the tumour to kill the cancer cells – patients are often given 3 to 4 permanent tattoos which act as a guide for where their treatment needs to delivered.

SGRT will mean that those patients who are treated with this machine do not need to have the tattoos which otherwise serve as a permanent reminder of their treatment – long after they might have rung the bell.

Personalised Immunotherapy Treatment

We have used £280,000 to buy a magical piece of kit called a ‘Phenocycler’ which can help doctors look in more detail than ever before at what is happening to all the immune cells within a tumour and from this will be able to make better, precision designed treatments for patients.

There are only 10 of these machines in the UK and it is capable of imaging a million individual cells in only 10 minutes.

This technology can transform patient treatment at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre for a long time to come.

'Vein viewers' take the stress out of blood tests

The giving of blood samples becomes a very regular part of life for almost all cancer patients as it helps doctors and nurses a deeper understanding of the biology of what is happening inside a patient. It’s never pleasant but it becomes a regular part of treatment.

For some patients however this becomes a problem. Sometimes a person has blood vessels which are difficult to locate, which means they frequently have to make the journey to Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool, to have a 15 minutes blood draw.

Thanks to a generous donation from a supporter in Ormskirk has changed. The Charity has now provided eight “vein viewer” devices which will be in use across the entire Clatterbridge network – meaning that patients with tricky blood vessels will hopefully be able to have their treatment at a clinic much closer to home. The new devices are already in constant use and very popular with our clinic staff!

The device has proved so popular that many NHS Trusts throughout the UK are following our lead.

Providing comfort for spinal cancer patients

Patients undergoing procedures on potential spinal cancers – which can often involve up to 10 hours lying down – are now able to do so in relative comfort after our very own innovation team designed a special piece of kit to hold an iPad above their beds.

Patients are now able to interact through a tablet device, which allows them to take more control of their care, communicate digitally and keep entertained. This will help to reduce stress and anxiety of patient whilst improving their overall experience and wellbeing. It has been so successful that other NHS trusts across the country are being invited to use it.

Supporting patients with chemotherapy induced hair-loss

Cancer treatment, in particular chemotherapy, brings with it some difficult side effects, including hair loss, which is often the first sign for others to know that that person has cancer. Many of our patients find the sudden and visible physical change really hard and very stressful. Chemotherapy drugs are powerful and attack rapidly growing cells with hair follicles being one of them. The hair will usually start to fall out approx. 2 to 4 weeks following the first treatment. Some patients may lose all of their hair whilst others it becomes patchy.

Treatment for this type of hair loss is limited and patients are always given the choice to obtain a wig, scarves or use of the scalp cooling machines. Scalp coolers have proven to be an effective way of combatting hair loss from cancer treatment. It works by reducing the temperature of the scalp, restricting the blood supply and protecting the hair follicles from the chemotherapy drugs.

They help to achieve a number of health benefits including increased confidence, self-esteem and hope, as well as reduced anxiety as patients may not have to worry about hair loss.

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Emma Rodgers

The Clatterbridge Fairy was specially created by our Charity Patron, internationally acclaimed sculptor, Emma Rodgers.

We asked Emma to share why she's supporting our Fairy Appeal:
"I have been a Patron of Clatterbridge Cancer Charity for 14 years now, as my mum is cared for there. They are incredible with her and getting the 'all clear' was a wonderful moment. They've done more for me than I can ever do for them, so creating the Fairy seems a small thing, really.

And this year I will be dedicating my Fairy to Professor Myint and the Team at Clatterbridge love from Emma, Milly, Annie and family."