Targeted radiotherapy service shortlisted for national award

A prostate cancer treatment service at NNUH has been shortlisted for a national award.

The team who carry out High-Dose Rate prostate brachytherapy treatment have been named as finalists in the 2019 Macmillan Professionals Excellence Awards.

The first prostate brachytherapy treatment at NNUH took place in November and works by placing radioactive sources inside or near a tumour, which can potentially improve cure rates and reduce treatment times and side-effects.

The team have been shortlisted for the Quality Improvement Excellence Award at the annual awards run by Macmillan Cancer Support.

Katie Cooper, Consultant Radiographer, said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for this national award and to get this service off the ground was a massive team effort involving a number of divisions across the hospital, including theatres, anaesthetics and recovery.

The ability to treat using High-Dose Rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer patients enables us to reduce the number of external beam treatments that patients receive, reducing the number of visits to the hospital.  It also enables us to deliver a higher treatment dose whilst minimising the dose to the surrounding tissues and minimising long-term side effects.”

Around 400 men a year are treated with radiotherapy for prostate cancer at the NNUH, which directs radiation from outside the body.

Having prostate HDR increases the range of treatments available to patients and strengthens the Trust’s position as a centre of excellence for prostate cancer treatment.

The service was made possible thanks to the very generous public support for the N&N Hospital’s Charity Targeted Radiotherapy Appeal, which raised more than £600,000 to create a dedicated treatment space.

Vicki Currie, Katie Cooper, Jenny Nobes and Sam Worster