FUNDRAISER - CANCER COSTS

This is a personal virtual cancer support fundraiser by Graham Dooley, a resident of the Isle of Wight. In particular, by providing or assisting in the provision of equipment needed in connection with cancer relief, patient care or treatment at St. Mary Hospital NHS Trust, Newport, Isle of Wight or elsewhere on the Isle ofWight.

I hope to raise at least £10,000 by simply asking for donations from any local company, business, person, charity, body, group, etc feel they would like, and can afford, to contribute something towards this fundraiser. We are all going through difficult times but cancer costs.

Chemotherapy

The Chemotherapy Unit was opened on the Isle of Wight in October 2006 and has been designed to provide a spacious, calm and comfortable environment for patients. A Full body low field open MRI scanners are in the price range of £110,000 plus and that is for a reconditioned model.

The service provides oral and intravenous cytotoxic therapies, biological therapies and supportive therapies to adults. It is largely consultant led: treatments are prescribed by six visiting Consultant Oncologists from the cancer centres at Southampton and Portsmouth and two consultant haematologists who are based at St Mary’s Hospital. There is one oncology staff grade doctor who is a permanent member of staff at St Mary’s Hospital who reviews patients who are unwell when their consultant is not present on the IOW, and reviews chemotherapy patients who are admitted to the general medical or surgical wards. Referral to the Unit is via the Oncology Consultants or Haematology Consultants.

Regular donations allow us to fund new treatments and the equipment necessary that can help people live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer

In the summer of  2022 the creator of this site and fundraiser was a trustee with a local cancer group. In consultation with local urology and prostate cancer department  he asked for funding from the charity but was unsuccessful. The below text is from email consultation with medical staff at St Mary's Hospital on the Island. Medical equipment of all kinds is required to fight this disease and is very expensive. The recession is upon us and and the expression " Cancer Costs" is commonplace.

"Bladder scanners are helpful tools in which medical professionals can evaluate the health of their patient, and help prevent unnecessary procedures. Before portable bladder scanners, Drs and clinicians often had to resort to catheterisation which was not always needed. Now with the frequent use of bladder scanners, nurses can help better determine the need for catheterisation and cystoscopies. 

Normally, urine is a sterile fluid and the normal flow of urine prevents bacteria from infecting the urinary tract. With urinary retention, the abnormal urine flow gives bacteria, at the opening of the urethra, a chance to infect the urinary tract. This is when you can get a urinary tract infection (UTI). Bladder or kidney damage can also occur. If the bladder becomes stretched too far for long periods of time, the muscles can become permanently damaged and lose their ability to contract. In some cases, the retention can also cause urine to flow backward into the kidneys. The backward flow can cause damage or even scar the kidney.

There are lots of reasons that our patients may need to be scanned, but here are a few examples:-

• Prostate cancer patients referred to Portsmouth for Brachytherapy have a urine flow rate and bladder scan prior to treatment.

• Patients with LUTS (lower urinary tract symptoms) before or after cancer treatment may require a scan. For example; if a patient is unable to pass urine during radiotherapy treatment, we would need to scan their bladders to make sure they weren’t in retention (unable to pass urine).

• Patients examined in clinic and something found that we have concerns about. If we have a bladder scanner in clinic this will speed up access to diagnostic tests.

PSA can be artificially raised if a patient is not passing urine properly. A scanner would help us establish if this was the case.

The DanFlow machine, for which I sent you the details and quote in my last email, is actually uroflow meter and not a bladder scanner. We would be very grateful for help getting the bladder scanner or uroflow machine but the cost of bladder scanner is significantly higher, over £9000.

Uroflowmetry is a screening and, at the same time , a highly informative method of investigation. It allows revealing patients bladder obstruction with benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer, bladder neck sclerosis, urethral strictures, prostatitis, incontinence etc. The test itself don’t have the ability to diagnose prostate cancer, but it is required to determine the most suitable treatment for prostate cancer such as  brachytherapy or prostatectomy . It is also very important test when evaluation post treatment side-effects or complications. The test is done in conjunction with bladder scan."

How can the Isle of Wight Cancer Support assist ?