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A runner is preparing to tackle the world’s most iconic race in support of the team at Norfolk and  Norwich University Hospital who supported her friend after a cancer diagnosis.

Kelly Thurgood, from Pakefield in Suffolk, will join up to 40,000 others on the starting line of the London Marathon taking place on Sunday 28^th April.

It’s the second year, Kelly has taken part in the race, and after being lucky enough to get a place in the ballot for this year, she decided to raise money for Mulbarton ward where Danny Alison was treated.

She said: “When we found out that Danny had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphblastic Leukaemia (ALL) I knew I wanted to support him and the family in some way.

Kelly and Danny Alison

“They were determined that any funds raised should go to Mulbarton ward where Danny was treated.”

 The 32-year-old will be cheered along on the day by son, Elliott, five, and  11-year-old daughter Darcey, who is Kelly’s biggest supporter and often joins in on the training runs.

Danny’s wife, also called Kelly,  said her husband’s diagnosis one year ago was a huge shock and came totally out of the blue.

She said: “He had chest infections and had been suffering from back pain but had just put it down to work.

“One Friday the pain was so bad he went to the N&N and on the Saturday the doctors diagnosed ALL.”  Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia is a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells.

Kelly Alison from Carlton Colville in Suffolk, who has two daughters Sophia, 14, and Jasmin, 11, said Danny underwent chemotherapy before recently having a stem cell transplant.

She said: “It has been a tough year but hopefully Danny has now turned a corner and things will get better.

“As soon as Kelly said she wanted to raise money for us, we were determined that it should go to the team who treated us so well, including [Consultant Haematologists] Angela Collins and Matthew Lawes and nurse Sarah Hicks.

“The whole team was fantastic and I don’t know how we would have coped without them – they really got us through.”

You can support Kelly here http://www.justgiving.com/Kelly-Thurgood

An appeal to build a new breast care centre at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has passed the £100,000 mark thanks to the generosity of fundraisers.

The Boudicca Appeal has reached the milestone four months after its launch after supporters raised money by holding quizzes, coffee mornings and undertaking dry January. Support has also come in the form of legacies and in memory donations.

Future plans include a Superhero Abseil down the side of the Forum in June, a team participating in Run Norwich in July as well as the Summer Fete and Open Day.

The appeal aims to raise £800,000 towards a new facility where patients can have the necessary images taken, undergo a biopsy and see their consultant in one appointment. Currently, not all patients are provided with this same day diagnosis service because of limited capacity in the existing unit.

The N&N Hospitals Charity is now urging even more people to support the appeal by getting behind a series of fundraising events planned for the coming months – including a series of events by the Rotary Clubs of Norwich which include a quiz night, a walk and a special ball taking place in November at the Assembly House

Louise Cook, head of fundraising, said: “We are really grateful to everyone who has supported the appeal so far and helped us reach this important milestone.

“The new breast care centre will make a real difference to the experience which thousands of patients have each year when receiving care, so we would encourage anyone who is thinking of doing some fundraising to please consider supporting Boudicca in any capacity. Just do what you can from holding a cake sale at work to our abseil –everyone can do something.”

Mark Davies, CEO of the NNUH said, ‘’ We are delighted to have reached this milestone so early in our fundraising. We urge people to get behind this appeal so that the target can be reached sooner than later.’’

Anyone who would like to find out more can call the N&N Hospitals Charity on 01603 287107 or visit www.nnhospitalscharity.org.uk or donate directly on www.justgiving.com/campaign/boudicca

Norfolk Snowsports Club has chosen the N&N Hospitals Charity’s Boudicca Breast Cancer Appeal as its charity for the year.

The club, based at Trowse, will be raising money at a number of its events throughout the year which will be announced on the club’s social media sites @norfolkski and facebook.com/norfolkski/

The Boudicca Appeal launched at the end of 2018 with the aim of creating a dedicated breast cancer unit at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), which will cost £800,000.

Over the past five years, the current breast cancer unit has seen an 80% increase in patient numbers (645 referrals per month in 2018, compared to 360 in 2012).

This means that, after an initial consultation, some women need to go away and wait for an appointment to come back at a future date for further tests.

The new unit will allow for faster diagnosis and treatment and same-day diagnostic tests for all patients.

Norfolk Snowsports is among a number of organisations in the county to have to have pledged their support for the appeal.

NNUH Head of Fundraising Louise Cook said: “We are so pleased that Norfolk Snowsports Club has chosen the Boudicca Appeal as their charity for the year.

“The club is such a fantastic facility on our doorstep with thousands of members of all ages and we are lucky to have them on board.

“Boudicca is the charity’s main appeal for 2019 as we work to make sure the new breast unit is created as quickly as possible.”

The Snowsports Club joins a number of organisations in the city which have chosen to support the Boudicca Appeal this year.

These include the five Norwich Rotary Clubs, The Forum Trust, Eaton Golf Club and Spire Solicitors along with the many individuals and teams taking part in fundraising challenges.

If you would like to support the appeal, please contact fundraising@nnuh.nhs uk or go to www.nnhospitalscharity.org.uk for more information.

A staff member at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) is embarking on the challenge of a lifetime taking part in the final leg of the Round the World Clipper Yacht Race in aid of the Boudicca Breast Cancer Appeal.

Daniel Cox, a project management officer within the Surgical Division, will take part in the coveted final leg of the race from New York to Liverpool in June 2020 a journey expected to take more than 22 days at sea.

If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, Daniel is also taking part in the Brighton Marathon in April this year – his first marathon and just one year after taking up running with the NNUH Couch to 5k running club.

Daniel said: “I am coming up to my 50^th birthday  and I wanted to mark it with a couple of challenges.

“I grew up in Greenwich which is on the route of the London Marathon and also home to all the maritime heritage so it seemed the perfect challenge – I’ve always had an interest in sailing and done it occasionally and I thoughts let’s do something mad.

“I signed up for the Clipper Race first of all and thought I needed something to drive me and inspire me and am now well into the training programme for the Brighton Marathon.”

The Clipper Race is the only race of its kind where people with no experience of sailing can take part in the challenge which takes in six oceans and 40,000 nautical miles over eight legs.

Although Daniel’s leg of the Clipper Race is more than a year away, the full race starts in July this year and his training has already started in Portsmouth where the Clipper is based.

He said: “It is one of the most challenging things I have ever done. It consists of finding your way around a 70ft racing boat, learning about the different sails and ropes, how to handle the boat and life on board.

“Once at sea, we will work on a shift system of four hours sleep and four hours sailing and sail through the night. There could be up to 20 people on the boat so we are hot bunking – once you’re up someone else is in your bed

“They say even the most experienced sailors can get sea sick but, touch wood, I have not had a problem yet.

“The biggest challenge is not the sailing, because you can learn to sail, but being part of a team and learning to live together for long periods of time at sea.”

Daniel’s family have been very supportive through the mental and physical demands of the training and are 100% behind him as he also raises money for the N&N Hospitals Charity Boudicca Breast Cancer Appeal.

The appeal aims to raise £800,000 to provide a dedicated one-stop-shop breast cancer service where patients will receive diagnostic tests and clinical and imaging assessments on one day.

Daniel said: “I’ve worked at the Trust for two years and it’s a fantastic place to work filled with brilliant people doing amazing things and as part of that I thought what can I do to support it.

“When it comes to cancer, as with so many people, many of my friends and family have been affected by cancer and the Boudicca Appeal was a great opportunity to raise awareness and support this fantastic cause.”

You can support Daniel via his JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/danielcox2020

For more information about the Boudicca appeal, go to https://nnhospitalschari-8tcepqp763.live-website.com/about-us/latest-campaigns-and-appeals/the-boudicca-appeal/

The latest developments in cancer care will be among the talks taking place at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) as it marks World Cancer Day with an information event on Monday, February 4 which will give people the chance to hear about cancer care at NNUH.

The information event is being held alongside events worldwide to mark World Cancer Day with the aim of raising awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.

From 2pm-4pm there will be information stands at the East Atrium level 1 on the main hospital site, where the public can find out more about the many cancer treatments at the hospital and much more.

Then from 4pm-6pm, there will be a series of short talks in the Benjamin Gooch Lecture Theatre led by leading consultants and experts in cancer care, followed by a question and answer session, where the public will have the opportunity to put their questions relating to cancer care to the team. The event will end with music from the NNUH Hospital Choir.

Hosted by NNUH Medical Director Erika Denton and among the speakers will be the Trust’s Cancer Manager Matt Keeling. He said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to hear about the developments taking place here in Norfolk.

“The NNUH is one of the country’s biggest cancer centres, treating about 6,000 patients each year and diagnoses almost 2% of all cancers in the UK. We want to keep the local population updated on the exciting developments and work being undertaken in this area’’

Louise Cook, NNUH Head of Fundraising said: “The event will be a great opportunity for the people of Norfolk to find out more about the cancer services available to them.

“We have among the country’s leading experts in this field and this annual event is a perfect way to mark this year’s World Cancer Day. We will also be letting people know about our current appeal that will benefit local breast cancer patients.”

Refreshments and free parking will be available for attendees.

Notes to editors:
For more information about the event, please email communications@nnuh.nhs.uk

A project to enhance the range of cancer treatments available to patients with localised prostate cancer has begun at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

The first High-Dose Rate prostate brachytherapy treatment in East Anglia has taken place at NNUH.

The new service is thanks to the very generous public support for the N&N Hospital’s Charity Targeted Radiotherapy Appeal, which raised more than £600,000 to create a dedicated treatment space in the Colney Centre.

Around 400 men a year are treated with radiotherapy for prostate cancer at the NNUH, which directs radiation from outside the body. High-Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy is used for many cancers, and works by placing radioactive sources inside or near a tumour, which can potentially improve cure rates and reduce treatment times and side-effects.

The hospital is the first in the world to use the Varian Bravos afterloader system for brachytherapy treatments.

Dr Jenny Nobes, Consultant Oncologist at NNUH, who is a specialist in brachytherapy, said the new service meant that patients with prostate cancer no longer had to travel to London for HDR treatment.

“Instead of having seven and a half weeks of daily radiotherapy, patients have three weeks of daily radiotherapy and this brachytherapy treatment as a boost. Because it places the radioactive source directly into the prostate, there is potentially less effect on the bladder and bowel. Having prostate HDR increases the range of treatments available as well as reducing the number of visits to the hospital for people across the region.

It strengthens our position as a centre of excellence for prostate cancer treatment. The Trust started robotic prostate surgery a few years ago and men now have more radiotherapy treatment options as well,” she said.

Jonathan Bower, from Norwich, was the first patient to receive prostate brachytherapy on November 29^th after being diagnosed with cancer in June 2018.

For me, it is perfect. The big advantage is that after HDR brachytherapy, which is generally a day case admission to hospital, I only require 15 sessions of radiotherapy. If I had not had the brachytherapy treatment, then I would have needed 37 sessions of radiotherapy.”

People across Norfolk and Waveney donated and raised over £600,000 to fund the Targeted Radiotherapy Appeal to create a purpose built brachytherapy space at NNUH.

The appeal funded a multi-purpose room for anaesthesia and brachytherapy treatment at the Colney Centre with a dedicated recovery area as well as additional equipment needed for these treatments.

Louise Cook, Head of Fundraising, said: “The Targeted Radiotherapy Appeal was our biggest fundraising appeal at the time and it is fantastic to see that people’s generosity has led to real improvements in patient care at NNUH and enhanced services.”

The hospital’s charity launched the £800,000 Boudicca Appeal last month to provide a new dedicated breast cancer unit at NNUH. To support the appeal, visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Boudicca

The treatment of endometrial cancer is set to be transformed at the N&N after the hospital charity funded a state-of-the-art piece of equipment.

The £110,000 Stryker Laparoscopy Stack System was paid for by donations to the charity’s general fund and the VOiCE campaign which specifically raises money to help patients with Vulval, Ovarian, Cervical and Endometrial cancers.

The system uses the latest technology to identify sentinel nodes, which are the first few lymph nodes into which a tumour drains. This means they can be removed individually and tested without the need to take out every node unnecessarily.

Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist Tim Duncan explained that traditional treatment of endometrial cancer involves removing the cancer and then removing all of the lymph nodes in that region of the body and checking them for disease. The results would influence what further therapy was needed.

If the lymph nodes are all clear, taking them out offers no advantage to the patient because not only has healthy tissue been removed, but it also increases the risk of lymphoedema – a condition where lymph fluid collects in tissues and causes swelling in them.

Mr Duncan said: “You can have a situation where you remove the tumour, take out the lymph nodes in that region and find that they’re all clear but leave the patient at risk of the horrendous complication of lymphoedema which is life-long, and while it’s manageable, it’s not curable.

“The Stryker system uses specialist light sources with filters to allow us to see a fluorescent ICG dye which tracks the sentinel nodes.

“It also gives us ultra-high-definition images which allows for more precise surgery. Within the stack, you also have a monitor and an accessory monitor for the assistant to look at, and an image capture system.

“Because this is emerging technology and the equipment is expensive, it’s very difficult to get funding through normal Trust means. So this has been funded exclusively from charitable funds and this could not have been possible without the charity.”

The new treatment will involve more sensitive pathology, called ultra staging. This involves the examination of just a small number of nodes, compared to up to 50, but now these can be looked at in even finer sections which can pick up even very tiny metastases.

Mr Duncan said: “In the coming months, our treatment for endometrial cancer will involve taking out the sentinel node alongside our standard treatment because we must show the accuracy of the new system.

But there are still advantages to the patient because we will be ultra staging the sentinel nodes, and then we can start to realise all other benefits next year.

“We are extremely grateful for all the support we have received from the charity and it shows that giving to the hospital charity and VOiCE means money goes directly towards improving patient care at this hospital.”

He added that he expected the new equipment would have a huge positive impact on patients and compared it to the introduction of a high definition laparoscopic stack nine years ago to carry our hysterectomies, also funded by the charity.

He said: “This enabled us to carry out laparoscopic hysterectomies and we went from doing none to doing 98% which is the highest rate in the UK by a long way.

“Length of stay for that procedure is now 24 hours, down from three to four days, recovery is a third of the time, complication rates are halved, and we are expecting a similar impact with this latest piece of equipment as well.”