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In the news..

Expansion of Bristol Cancer Centre given approval 

3 May 2012

The full business case for the expansion of the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre (BHOC) has been approved by University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust's Board.  The full story can be found here.

Leading Cancer Specialist to give presentation on breast and prostate cancer

31 January 2012

Leading UH Bristol clinical oncologist Dr Amit Bahl will be giving a presentation on the basics of breast and prostate cancer and looking at new advances in surgery, radiotherapy and systemic therapy at a Members for Medicine event at 6pm on Thursday 9 February.  Dr Bahl will also be taking questions from the floor following his talk and all are welcome to attend. Find out more about the talk.

University Hospitals Bristol and UWE Bristol to run innovative radiotherapy training

3 November 2011 

The University of the West of England is working with University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust to deliver the first university devised module in Brachytherapy, a form of radiotherapy.  The new module addresses a growing need for specialised training within this field.  UWE academic staff worked closely with Kate Love (Radiotherapy Services Manager) and Pauline Humphrey (Consultant Radiographer) at Bristol Haematology and Oncology Department to design and deliver the module. Find out more

Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre £1.6m makeover

Thursday, 3 March 2011

The Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre has transformed its reception and waiting rooms after raising £1.6m through a public appeal. The revamped facilities are an attempt to make the surroundings more pleasant for patients. Some of the money was raised by former patients and BBC Points West's Sabet Choudhury has been to meet one of them, Jason Edgar.

The full story and video can be accessed on the BBC website 

Bristol Hospital gets 'revolutionary' cancer scanner

Monday, 28 March 2011

A "revolutionary" new cancer scanner is being used by scientists at Bristol's Southmead Hospital. The Circulating Tumour Cell (CTC) machine looks for cancer cells in blood samples of patients with prostate, breast and colon cancers. Doctors believe it will improve conditions for sufferers by giving them more detailed information, including more accurate medication and treatment. The £110,000 machine is the first to be based outside of London. "It's fairly revolutionary in Bristol. These machines are high-tech, they are cutting edge," said Professor David Gillatt from the Bristol Urological Institute. "It's a great step forward for Bristol's prostate cancer research. "Senior research technician Dr Caroline Jarrett is one of those who will be using the CTC machine. "It's incredibly exciting. I'm really looking forward to it. "I have to go on an intensive training course so that I can use it. I'm really excited, I think it's a brilliant piece of equipment." The Friends of the Bristol Oncology Centre and the John James Bristol Foundation raised half of the money needed for the machine, which was then matched by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. Friends chairman John Miles, who himself had prostate cancer, said early detection of the disease was vital. "I discovered it 11 years ago. If you find out early enough with prostate cancer there's a very good chance of a cure."Cancer patients at both Southmead Hospital and the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre will benefit from the equipment.

The full story and video can be accessed on the BBC website  

OneBest Patient Support Initiative in Oncology

Jancis Kinsman, Advanced Practice Therapy Radiographer, and the team at the BHOC, part of University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, have won ˜Best Patient Support Initiative in Oncology at the 2010 Excellence in Oncology Awards for ˜One of a Kind! A guide to radiotherapy. 

Jancis and the team collaborated with six NHS hospital trusts, eight charities and Oscar-winning Aardman Animations to produce an animated film for young children going through the daunting experience of radiotherapy.

On winning the award, Jancis said: Its always lovely to be recognised for what you do but Im especially proud to win an award for this project.

We wanted to create a short animated film with characters that young children could identify with that would be the best way to communicate to them what it is like to have radiotherapy.  Its been really successful and is now used in hospitals across the country.  I hope that by winning this award even more people will get to know about it and it may find its way to even more children.

The award is a testament to the work of the many people involved and Id especially like to thank all of the charities that donated funds so that it was possible, the children and their families for taking part, and Aardman for doing such a fantastic job.

At the same awards ceremony, the work of the Bristol Testicular Cancer Service Team at BHOC was recognised with a commendation for their specialist cancer unit and charitable initiatives benefiting testicular cancer patients across the South West of England.

The full video can be watched below.