GRIMSBY'S Pink Rose Suite is simply the best – and that's official.
The facility at the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital now has two new ground-breaking enhancements to its diagnosis and treatment equipment – which consultant Leslie Donaldson says puts the unit "a long way ahead of most others in the country".
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| STATE OF THE ART: Consultant breast surgeon Leslie Donaldson with a breast scan image from one of the new mammography machines. |
The breast cancer centre is now not only operating two £950,000 digital mammography machines – used by just two other hospitals in the country – but it will soon offer patients lipo-modelling in breast reconstruction.
The developments mean the Pink Rose Suite continues to be one of the nation's leading centres for breast cancer treatment and care – thanks to outstanding fundraising efforts by the North East Lincolnshire public.
As has been widely reported, Grimsby Telegraph readers helped raise an outstanding £250,000 in just five months for the new unit, securing its foundation as a major diagnosis and treatment centre in the UK.
And, since the launch of the campaign back in 2006, the donations have never stopped.
A prime example of local generosity is the latest addition to the centre.
Lipo-modelling – also known as fat-grafting – has been funded purely by Jenny Tiffney, of Wigs at Meg's Hair Design, in Cleethorpes, who raised a staggering £40,000 in two years through various fundraising events – £30,000 of which was from the 2009 Pink Rose Calendar.
As reported, Jenny provides and cuts wigs for women who have lost their hair as a result of chemotherapy and they provided her with the inspiration to fundraise for the hospital.
She said: "I have always felt strongly that the money we raised would go straight to our local hospital. I feel so proud to have raised £40,000.
"I have always been inspired by the ladies I see and the courage they show and I heard such great things about Mr Donaldson and his team. You see their passion and commitment. To the ladies, Mr Donaldson is a hero."
Mr Donaldson and consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon Jenny Smith believe the two developments in care further improve the service, helping patients at every stage – from the dark days of diagnosis, right the way through to recovery.
Mr Donaldson said: "We are all very passionate about what we do and we want the best for our patients. We treat people from Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Louth and to have these advances in diagnosis and treatment is fantastic. We feel we're able to help the ladies better.
"It shows we are able to continue to improve the overall care that we can offer them."
The mammography machines enhance doctor's ability to detect cancers – catching seven per cent more cases on average – by providing detailed images and exposing the patient to considerably lower radiation levels than a standard X-ray.
It is particularly good for younger women because their breasts are denser and it can sometimes be harder to detect the tumours using the standard mammogram, which is now no longer in use.
The money raised by Megs will also pay for the surgical team to be trained in lipo-modelling enabling them to take natural fat from the patient's stomach or thy and use to reconstruct their breast.
For women – especially those who have been left disfigured by their tumour – the surgery is a major part of their recovery.
Ms Smith said: "It has been widely researched that women feel much better about their whole life in general once they have breast reconstruction surgery, as many feel they have had an unacceptable change in the shape of their breast following a lump removal.
"The surgery has lots of uses, but the main one is to improve the quality of the woman's life. It is a very important part of their recovery.
"We offer an extremely high-quality service already but we are always trying to improve and add to that."
Up to 80 new patients are seen every week at the unit and between 300 and 350 cancers are detected and treated each year. Each year 3,500 new patients attend the suite and 4,500 patients are seen as follow-up cases.
And the ongoing fundraising effort never stops, with Mr Donaldson already making plans to add CT (computerised tomography) technology to the mammography enabling even more detailed imagery.
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