Northampton hospital launches new prostate cancer treatment
A pioneering non-invasive treatment for prostate cancer will be launched after a successful fundraising campaign.More than £400,000 was collected to pay for a High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) machine at Northampton General Hospital (NGH).Doctors said the treatment is less likely to have unpleasant side effects than surgery or radiotherapy.Another hospital in the east of England is planning to launch HIFU for prostate cancer later this year - the Queen Elizabeth in King's Lynn, Norfolk.
NGH said about 1,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in Northamptonshire alone, and HIFU therapy could be an option for about 200 of them.The machine sends a beam of ultrasound energy into the prostate from a probe inserted into the rectum.The sound waves are focused precisely onto the cancerous area, and the tissue is heated to a temperature that destroys the cancer cells.
The associate medical director of University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN), Chandran Tanabalan, said: "Focal therapy offers significant advantages over surgery and radiotherapy treatments as it treats just the part of the prostate affected by cancer."This leads to lower risks of long-term side effects like erectile dysfunction and incontinence, faster recovery times, and better quality of life post procedure that can be associated with radical surgery or radiotherapy."
Northamptonshire Health Charity raised more than £400,000 for the project.Jonathan McGee, its chief executive, said: "During the initial fundraising for the campaign, I too was diagnosed with prostate cancer. "This gave me a valuable personal perspective on the importance of this appeal, and although I am quite 'young' for a diagnosis, it shows the importance of screening.""I'm fortunate that for me it's 'watch and wait' so I may never need treatment," he added.
The first patients are due to be offered the treatment within the next few weeks, and it is hoped all the equipment will be in place by the summer.Men from across the East Midlands will eventually use the service at Northampton.The UHN chief executive, Laura Churchward, said: "We very much want UHN to be front-runners in this exciting field with so many potential benefits for our prostate cancer patients."Paul Sayer, founder of the national charity Prost8 UK, said he was "thrilled to see the NHS embracing this technology, with Northampton General Hospital leading the way. "We will be actively referring patients to the HIFU."The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, is expecting to launch the therapy in the coming year.
Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Northampton General patient records to go digital
All patient records at a hospital are to go digital as part of a major step "in modernising patient care".The new Electronic Patient Record (EPR) will be switched on at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) from Saturday 28 June. It has been developed by the software system Nervecentre, and is designed to bring all patient notes and information into "one single, secure digital format".William Monaghan, from NGH, described it as a "pivotal moment" and said he hoped it would mean "safer and more co-ordinated care". A hospital spokesperson said the electronic system would "enable clinical teams to access real-time information about a patient's care, helping them make quicker, safer and better-informed decisions". 'Teething problems' Patient records are currently stored in a combination of paper files and digital systems, but will be replaced by "a central, streamlined platform that enhances efficiency and reduces duplication". Mr Monaghan, group chief digital information officer, said: "This is a pivotal moment for NGH and our patients. "The new EPR system puts essential information at our clinical teams' fingertips, helping them deliver safer, more co-ordinated care."While there may be a few teething problems as we go live, this investment in digital infrastructure will transform how we work, giving our teams more time to focus on what matters most: caring for patients."The hospital said staff would be using secure, hospital-owned mobile devices, like tablets and iPhones, at patients' bedsides. It means staff will be able to view the latest medical information instantly, spend less time on administration, avoid asking patients to repeat their history many times - and improve co-ordination between departments and patient information will be kept secure, it confirmed. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
King Charles will swap reins for carriage at Trooping the Colour ceremony as he continues undergoing treatment for cancer
The King will no longer ride in the Trooping the Colour due to his ongoing cancer treatments, it was reported last night. As a former polo player and one of the Royal Family 's most accomplished equestrians, King Charles rode for years in the parade - both for his mother's official birthday celebrations and then for his own. But he will not appear on horseback at the event this weekend and will instead travel in a carriage for the procession from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade and back, according to The Sunday Times. It is understood that he will not ride at the parade again. His illness is said to have curtailed the 'monarch in the saddle' tradition that he briefly revived in 2023, the first time the monarch had ridden in the parade since Queen Elizabeth did in 1986. The late Queen rode her trusty mare Burmese until the horse was retired when she began travelling in a carriage until her final appearance in 2022, where she took the salute from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The King, 76, was admitted to hospital for treatment to an enlarged prostate in January 2024 and shortly after was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer. It meant that he travelled with Queen Camilla in a carriage at last year's parade to be safer and more comfortable. This came a year after what is now known to be his last appearance on horseback for the celebration, which did not go particularly smoothly for Charles. He was riding Noble, a black mare which appeared unsettled throughout - at one point even breaking into a canter in the Mall. One television commentator described Noble's behaviour as 'if it was going into the starting stalls at Newmarket'. And while Charles is not expected to ride at the parade again, this weekend's event will be the first time that the Princess Royal has ridden in public since she was hospitalised following a suspected horse injury last year. Anne, 74, plans to ride in the parade this year in her role as gold stick, the colonel of the Blues and Royals, alongside the Prince of Wales as colonel of the Welsh Guards and the Duke of Edinburgh as colonel of the Scots Guards and London Guards.
Daily Mail
09-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 85, remains in 'good spirits' following hospital admission and is expected to be discharged over the weekend, palace says
Queen Margrethe of Denmark remains in positive spirits following her hospitalisation and should be discharged in the coming days. It was revealed yesterday that Margrethe, 85, was admitted into Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen after contracting a cold. Margrethe, who abdicated in January in favour of her son, King Frederick X, remains in hospital, but the palace is hopeful that she will return to Fredensborg Palace this weekend. 'H.M. Queen Margrethe remains hospitalized at Rigshospitalet on Friday morning,' the palace said. The update continued, 'Her Majesty is recovering and in good spirits. Queen Margrethe is therefore expected to be discharged from Rigshospitalet and return to Fredensborg Palace during the weekend.' The royal, a third cousin of Queen Elizabeth, was placed in hospital for observation as a precautionary measure. She cleared her schedule of upcoming engagements, including yesterday's visit to the Sankt Lukas Foundation's 125th anniversary celebration, People reported. 'HM Queen Margrethe admitted to Rigshospitalet,' the palace said yesterday, adding, 'As a result of the cold that H.M. Queen Margrethe has contracted, it has been decided that the Queen will be admitted to Rigshospitalet for observation as a precaution. Her Majesty, known for her chain-smoking and love of dachshunds, was last seen on Sunday during a church service in connection with the 80th anniversary of Denmark's liberation. Despite resigning in 2023, the monarch remains active and performs royal duties alongside her son. Margrethe shocked the nation with the announcement of her abdication during her New Year's Eve live television segment. Just 14 days later, Margrethe, who ruled for 52 years, signed away the throne at a Council of State meeting and her son, Frederik, was crowned King of Denmark. She said one of the reasons why she chose to give up the throne was because of her health issues, adding that she underwent surgery for her back in February 2023. Margrethe said: 'It went well, thanks to the skilled healthcare staff who took care of me. Of course, the operation also gave rise to thinking about the future - whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation.' She is still known as Her Majesty Queen Margrethe and can fill in as regent if King Frederik, Queen Mary and Crown Prince Christian are abroad, ill or on holiday. Just one week after giving up the crown, the royal went to a special church service at Aarhus Cathedral with her son, King Frederik and his wife Queen Mary. In Denmark, formal power resides with the elected parliament and its government. The monarch is expected to stay above partisan politics, representing the nation with traditional duties ranging from state visits to national day celebrations. Born in 1940, Margrethe has throughout her life enjoyed broad support from Danes, who are fond of her tactful and yet creative personality, the Prime Minster has previously described her as 'the epitome of Denmark'. The monarch hit the headlines in 2022 when she removed royal titles from the four children of her younger son Prince Joachim. She enjoyed a close relationship with her third cousin Queen Elizabeth II, both descendants of Queen Victoria, having bonded during several state visits to each other's countries down the decades - most recently in 2000, when Margrethe was received at Windsor. The six-feet-tall Margrethe has been one of the most popular public figures in Denmark. She often walked the streets of Copenhagen virtually unescorted and won the admiration of Danes for her warm manners and for her talents as a linguist and designer. A keen skier, she was a member of a Danish women's air force unit as a princess, taking part in judo courses and endurance tests in the snow. In 2011, at age 70, she visited Danish troops in southern Afghanistan wearing a military jumpsuit. As monarch, she crisscrossed the country and regularly visited Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, the two semi-independent territories which are part of the Danish Realm, and was met everywhere by cheering crowds. Denmark has Europe's oldest ruling monarchy, which traces its line back to the Viking king Gorm the Old, who died in 958. Although Margrethe is head of state, the Danish Constitution strictly ruled out her involvement in party politics. Margrethe was born a week after Nazi Germany had invaded Denmark. The occupation meant that the little princess became a symbol of hope for the Danes. She ascended the throne on January 15, 1972, after the death of her father. But, although she was his eldest child, she did not become heir presumptive until 1953, when Denmark's constitution was amended to allow women to inherit the throne. That followed a referendum in which more than 85 per cent of participants voted to allow female succession. She was married in 1967 to a Frenchman, Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat, later styled as Prince Henrik. They had two sons, Prince Frederick and Prince Joachim. Despite enjoying a long marriage of 50 years, her relationship with Henrik was plagued with controversy. Henrik stunned Danes by saying he felt he had been pushed aside in his own home by his wife. Prince Henrik died in 2018 aged 83. On the day she became monarch, she appeared on the balcony of Denmark's Christiansborg Palace and pledged her allegiance to the nation.
