Rotary governor treated with equipment he helped bring to NNUH
A patient is being treated with a specialist form of radiotherapy using equipment he helped fundraise for 10 years ago.
Ian Graham, who is the District Governor for East Anglia for Rotary International, is being treated, following a diagnosis of prostate cancer, using brachytherapy, where a sealed radiation source is inserted into or close to the area requiring treatment. This is followed by four weeks of daily standard radiotherapy.
He said: “I was diagnosed back in the spring, and I had to undergo hormone treatment for a while and have now, following the brachytherapy operation, begun the four weeks of daily treatment.”
“The staff have been fantastic, really amazing, always willing to answer any questions, and making sure you understand everything that is happening, helping to overcome the fear of the unknown.”
Mr Graham’s treatment comes a decade after he was involved in the Targeted Radiotherapy Appeal which was the N&N Hospitals Charity’s biggest fundraising appeal at the time, raising a total of £600,000 to create a brachytherapy suite at the Colney Centre at NNUH.
He said: “I was involved a lot in the paperwork, and I remember it well. I was with the Aylsham Rotary Club, which donated £1,500 of the total of £60,000 raised, and under the leadership of the Norwich Marchesi Rotary Club with support from many local clubs and internationally, we were able to help in the purchase of the specialist equipment to enable brachytherapy.”
The fundraising involved an international partnership between Rotary members in East Anglia and Rotarians in Bangalore, India, and the Rotary Foundation which matched the fundraising.
Mr Graham added: “I would like to thank the people of East Anglia and around the world who donated funds to Rotary Clubs which has enabled me to have this treatment at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.”
Julie Cooper, Head of Grants, said: “Our Charity vision is to support even better care at the NNUH hospitals, and we are so pleased to learn that our Targeted Radiotherapy Appeal which raised £600,000 to fund the creation of a brachytherapy service at the N&N has benefited someone who was involved in fundraising for that appeal.
“The NHS has been supported by NHS charities since it was created, and it is with the support of the local community, and groups such as the Rotary Clubs, that we are able to fund the extras that really make a difference for patients.
“We are extremely grateful to all our supporters, who continue to help us in really making a difference for patients at our NHS Trust’s hospitals.”
For more information about the work we do and to support the N&N Hospitals Charity, contact fundraising@nnuh.nhs.uk or call 01603 287462.