A new pathway to fast track patients from the Preston area with suspected ovarian cancer is being implemented at the Royal Preston Hospital following the arrival of a new state-of-the-art ultrasound machine with specialist imaging software, bought for the ultrasound department at the hospital’s Sharoe Green Unit.
We spent £92,976 of our charitable funds on the new equipment and software, which only launched last year, making the Royal Preston Hospital one of the first hospitals in the UK to have it.
The kit has been shown to have a far superior rate of ovarian cancer detection. It is able to not only discriminate between benign and malignant masses but to do so at the earliest stage of the tumour’s development.
It can also calculate the malignancy risk of any tumour detected so that patients whose risk of malignancy is greater than 10% can be fast tracked for further investigation to speed up their diagnosis and treatment.
Consultant sonographer Tracy Butcher, who, along with her colleague and fellow consultant sonographer Kate Greenwood, applied to us for the funding, explained: “With the new equipment, we are able to implement a new innovative pathway, the aim of which is to ensure cancers are diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days.
“The sensitivity of the equipment is such that in many cases, the exclusion of cancer is immediate without the need to refer patients on for further expensive and invasive tests.”
Kate Greenwood continued: “Further tests can include biopsies, surgery to remove lesions and screening such as MRI scans. The wait for these and the anxiety over them invariably causes patients extreme stress when in the majority of cases, the patient will not have cancer.”
“For patients needing further investigation, it means resources can be concentrated on them, speeding up the processes leading to a diagnosis and enabling them to receive treatment sooner to give them the best possible outcome.”
Dan Hill, our Head of Charities, said: “The arrival of the new ultrasound device and software is great news. Rosemere Cancer Foundation is delighted women in our area are among the first in the UK to be able to benefit from its enhanced capabilities in the detection of ovarian cancer.”
“Ovarian cancer is a quick growing cancer that can progress rapidly so speeding up its diagnosis when it is more treatable is vitally important.”
There are currently approximately 7,500 new cases of ovarian cancer in the UK annually. Symptoms of ovarian cancer can include pelvic area pain or tenderness, a swollen tummy or bloating, no appetite or feeling full quickly after eating, weight loss without trying to lose weight and needing to wee more often or having to go more urgently.