What is a Multi Disciplinary Team?
Toni-Marie Harvy MDT Coordinator
What is a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT)?
The MDT meet every
Friday to asses each individual case
Once you have had a
diagnosis of cancer your case is discussed by a team of specialists
called a Multidisciplinary Team. This is to ensure the very best
care and treatment is recommended for you. The team look at the
tumour under the microscope, at your CT and US Scans and at the
tumour markers. When you are first diagnosed this process is called
staging. Once the stage of testicular cancer is assessed, the team
decides the best care, follow-up and treatment for you.
Testicular cancer is rare and as such the
national guidelines believe that men fair better if their case is
discussed by a specialist team. University Hospitals Bristol NHS
Foundation Trust provides the specialist team for the South West of
England (see
map) and the MDT meeting is held every Friday at 8.30am.
All members of the
team have something to say.
Who are the team?
Dr Jeremy Braybrooke
(Lead Consultant Medical Oncologist)
Jeremy joined the Bristol Haematology and
Oncology centre from Oxford in 2001. He has been an active member
of the NCRI Clinical Studies Group for Testis and has supported the
introduction of the Testicular Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist in
Bristol. When he is not throwing himself off buildings for charity
he is very supportive of "It's in the bag" and welcomes innovations
to improve the service.
Dr Lara Gibbs (Consultant Medial
Oncologist)
Liz Allison (Germ
Cell Clinical Nurse Specialist)
Liz joined the team in November 2014 and has had
an interest in Germ Cell Cancer for sometime. She has a wealth
of experience and only recently was the Research Nurse for
Testicular Cancer. She is our representative for care for patients
who are Teenagers and Young adults.
Toni-Marie Harvey
(MDT coordinator)
Toni-Marie coordinates the MDT meeting, where
each new patient diagnosed with testicular cancer and those
who are having treatment or attending active surveillance are
discussed. Her job is make sure scans and slides are available to
ensure timely decisions for your care.
Mr. Tim Whittlestone
(Specialist Urology Surgeon)
Tim is the specialist surgeon for the service.
He performs the operation called Retroperitoneal Lymph Node
Dissection (RPLND) (removal of the lymph nodes in the abdomen) and
any other specialist urology operations. He is an active member of
the Urology Network Site Specific Group.
Mr Salah Albuheissi
Salah is the second specialist surgeon for the
service and he also performs RPLNDs, but also specialises in
laprascopic procedures (key hole operations).
Dr Mohamid
Sohail
Sohail look at the tumour under the microscope
and tell the team the type of tumour, whether it has spread to
the blood vessels and whether all of the tumour has been
removed.
Dr Julian Kabala and
Dr Lynne Armstrong (Consultant Radiologists)
Julian look at CT, Ultrasound and MRI Scans to
allow the team to make the best possible decisions regarding your
treatment and follow-up. Julian specialises in PET Scans.
Dr Amit Bahl
(Consultant Clinical Oncologist)
Amit is the oncologist who is responsible for
Radiotherapy, which is therapy using radioactive rays to specific
areas of the body. Amit is the Vice Chair of the Urology Network
Site Specific Group.
Specialist registrars
As a teaching hospital we will have specialist registrars
working in the testicular cancer clinic and on the wards.
They are senior doctors who are training to specialise in
oncology.
