Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Bunnies running!

Last week I said I'd give you some information about Clatterbridge Cancer Centre where I've worked for over 20 years, so here it comes. Just so you know, I was asked by a patient today how long I'd been working in radiotherapy. When I told him that it had been 20 something years and I'd received my 20 years service award last year for sticking around for so long, he said he couldn't believe it because I didn't look old enough. God bless him, that man went straight to the top of my Christmas card list!!!  

Here's some info from CCC:

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist cancer hospital located in Wirral, Merseyside, with a satellite radiotherapy centre in nearby Liverpool. It is one of the largest cancer centres in the UK with more than 8,000 new patients registered each year.

 

Overview

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS specialist cancer treatment facilities in the UK – employing 860 staff and treating more than 27,000 patients a year. Based in Wirral, it serves a population of 2.3 million across Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, the Isle of Man and parts of Lancashire.

 

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre delivers treatments to patients through radiotherapy and chemotherapy services, and has a dedicated cancer rehabilitation team. It also has a sophisticated diagnostic imaging department and is currently the only provider of proton therapy in the UK. With the support of the Teenage Cancer Trust Clatterbridge hosts the region’s Teenage and Young Adult Unit.

 

Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre opened its first radiotherapy satellite centre in Liverpool on 14 February 2011, in order to reduce travel times to patients living north of the River Mersey.

 

Foundation Trust status

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre became a Foundation Trust on 1 August 2006. As a result of its Foundation Trust status, local people, patients, carers and staff can become members and elect representatives to serve on a Council of Governors for the Trust.

Over 5,500 people have applied to become members of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust.

 

Hospitals addresses

 

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust
Clatterbridge Road
Wirral

Merseyside
CH63 4JY

0151 334 1155

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust Liverpool
Lower Lane

Fazakerley
Liverpool

Merseyside
L9 7BA

0151 514 2800

 

History

The Centre’s roots date back over a century to the Liverpool Hospital for Cancer and Diseases of the Skin, set up by James Seaton Smythe, a prominent surgeon. He founded the institution in 1862 and seven years later bequeathed the hospital the sum of £10,000.

In 1882 the hospital moved to a new site in Liverpool and was renamed The Radium Institute, and gradually the Centre grew to be one of two major radiotherapy centres in north-west England.

In the early 1950s a decision was taken to relocate services away from Liverpool city centre to Clatterbridge. The unit was opened in March 1958 and was known as Clatterbridge Hospital West – Radiotherapy Unit. The three wards housed 70 patient beds, and the linear accelerator treated between 60 and 80 patients a day. Demand for radiotherapy increased rapidly and by the mid 1960s up to 90 patients a day were being treated on the linear accelerator.

By 1974 the Centre changed its name to the Mersey Regional Centre for Radiotherapy and Oncology. By 1980 patient numbers were still rising and a decision was taken to undertake large-scale expansion at the unit. A new imaging facility was built, with a CT scanner installed in 1984 and the Gamma camera in 1988. The Medical Research Council chose Clatterbridge as the centre at which a Cyclotron would be installed for Proton and Neutron trials. This was installed in 1984.

 

Papillon – Contact Radiotherapy

The RT 50 Papillon machine at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is the first of its kind in the world. The machine allows the revival of interest in contact radiotherapy for patients with early low rectal tumours. There is increasing interest in Papillon as an alternative treatment option as it avoids major surgery and permanent stoma which is still regarded (at present) as the standard treatment for these patients.

 

Cyclotron

The Douglas Cyclotron is the only proton therapy facility of its kind in the United Kingdom. It is a national facility which treats cancers within the eye. Patients are referred from all over the United Kingdom and Ireland, with a smaller number from mainland Europe and other continents.
All patients requiring proton therapy for eye disease are referred to the service by eye tumour specialists at the following four ophthalmological tumour centres:

London (St Bartholomew’s Hospital)
Liverpool (St Paul's Eye Unit)
Sheffield (Royal Hallamshire Hospital)
Glasgow (Gartnavel General Hospital)

Fundraising

The hospital charity, ‘The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity’ is the only charity that raises funds to directly benefit the patients of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity wants to ensure the hospital can offer the most up-to-date treatment, support vital research, treat patients with world-class equipment and provide extra support services that may otherwise be unavailable.

To find out more about The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity’ visit www.yourclatterbridge.org.uk

 

Having been born and brought up in Bebington, Clatterbridge has been part of my life. My Mum did her nurse training at Clatterbridge School of Nursing in the late 1950/60's and she returned to work at Clatterbridge as a phlebotomist when I was 10 years old. She used to talk about the patients she met when taking blood samples for in patients who were receiving courses of radiotherapy. I remember the Super Scanner appeal when the money was raised to buy the first CT scanner for the unit in 1984 (I was still at school). The rest of the Clatterbridge site was Bebington's general hospital until 1979(ish) when Arrowe Park hospital opened. I had my appendix taken out at Clatterbridge one Friday evening in April 1980, I had a great time staying on Wendy ward which is now part of the St John's Hospice buildings.

When I visited the radiotherapy department at Cookridge Hospital when I was applying to train as a therapeutic radiographer I remember not being terribly surprised by anything I saw, I think I was just used to the idea of radiotherapy. What did surprise me about Cookridge was the fear the name of the hospital aroused in people living in West Yorkshire. It seemed really strange that a hospital could have such a strong association with cancer that the local population would be terrified if they were referred there. What I had failed to realise about Clatterbridge, was that it aroused the same feelings in people from Liverpool and North Wales. My view of a friendly DGH was only applicable to Bebington/Wirral residents and unfortunately the rest of Clatterbridge's wider catchment area was just as terrified as the people being referred in to Cookridge. Hopefully in the last 20+ years cancer has become a slightly less daunting illness and certainly my own experience is that our patients often find that their fears were unfounded and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is a pleasant friendly hospital full of hope rather than doom and gloom. 

When I transferred to Clatterbridge to complete my training the thing that did amaze me was the Neutron treatment facility which was part of the Cyclotron Unit. Having got used to normal linear accelerators which, were then and are still the machines which deliver the majority of external beam radiotherapy the neutron machine seemed absolutely massive. Due to the size of the gantry there was a pit under the floor and the floor could be withdrawn to allow the machine to rotate round and underneath the patient lying on the treatment couch. The neutron treatment unit was decommisioned when it was decided that side effects caused by this type of treatment were too severe and this ended neutron treatment in the U.K.. This type of treatment is still delivered in other parts of the world.

Bomford, C.K., Kunkler, I.H. and Sherriff, S.B. (1993)

It would seem moving floors were relatively common before my time in radiotherapy due to the size of linear accelerators but I had never seen anything like it! In fact the picture below shows a treatment machine with a floor which could be dropped out of the way to allow the machine to rotate, apparently patient's slippers had to be retrieved from the pit on a regular basis. Fortunately the patients weren't in them when they slid down the angled floor! When I first saw this photo I thought the machine must have been from the 1950's. However, I'm reliably informed that it was still operational in the 1980's.

Back in the day it wasn't unusual at all for Linear Accelerators (linacs) to still be running 20 years post installation. These days the expected life span of a linac is about 10 years. Due to the complexity of the machinery and the rapidly changing technology available in radiotherapy I don't think our shiny Novalis machine which was installed in the Aintree satellite centre will still be treating patients in 2030!

The Novalis linear accelerator

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2011/02/07/2-3m-brain-tumour-machine-unveiled-at-clatterbridge-cancer-centre-in-liverpool-99623-28124031/

This news article has a little film which shows one of our consultant clinical oncologists, Dr Haylock, discussing the advantages of the Novalis machine:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-12377388

I think that's enough plugging of Clatterbridge Cancer Centre for now! I'll fill you in on the exciting news about our fitness efforts this week.

Angela and Flora spent Sunday morning up to their knees in mud trekking around Thurstaston. Despite the weather they covered 7 miles, including a trespassing incident! Apparently this photo was taken before the mud bath! Angela certainly looks well dressed for the weather.

 

I wasn't able to join them as I had headed off to Llandudno for the Bunny Fun Run. I have to confess I was NOT looking forward to it. My prep hadn't gone quite as well as I'd hoped due to the fact that i just couldn't bring myself to go out and run in public! I did try to run on the treadmill at the gym but I was TERRIFIED of falling off!!! I have a long history of falling over, so this was not an unfounded concern! I consulted with my children about what i should wear, they're still at school and are occasionally forced to take part in the dreaded cross country so they had at least some ideas about appropriate dress. Oddly enough I don't have a wardrobe full of running clothes, strange hey!?!?!? I'd got dressed as they advised and set off for North Wales in plenty of time. It was a lovely cold but very bright sunny morning when I left the Wirral. Then after I hit the coast road it started raining, then sleet and finally snow. At that point, it dawned on me that I'd forgotten a waterproof. School boy error!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was tipping down with rain when i arrived so I sat in the car for a while praying it would ease off. Fortunately for me, a miracle happened, the rain eased and actually stopped before the run and only started again as it was finishing. Someone was smiling on us for sure. Everyone taking part was issued with a set of bunny ears and face painting was optional :)

Here's me, very obviously UNCOMFORTABLE!!!! I wasn't bothered about looking silly wearing bunny ears and face paint. It was the prospect of public running that was making me cringe.

I was surrounded by happy smiley people all having a laugh and I was TERRIFIED!!!! I was a bit less rigid after we'd done a warm up and I actually did run some of it, honest I did! It was 4km (2.5 miles in old money) from one end of Llandudno prom to the other and back again. There were lots of people taking part, serious (ish) runners, families with dogs, young and old and it was really good fun. There was a big group all dressed as rabbits who were there raising money in the name of a friend who was cared for in the hospice.



http://stdavidshospice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Bunny.jpg

First through the finishing post was Chris, Moyra's husband. He's been running competitively since he was 9 years old, he did it in 17 minutes and that included a cheery wave at all of us whom he passed on his way back down the prom. I took 34 minutes to do it, strangely enough I haven't been running competitively or otherwise since childhood! In fact I'm fairly sure I haven't run in public since I was at school. For me just breaking my own law and actually running where a whole bunch of people could see me was a HUGE achievement. So yay me!!! :)))) I even beat a few people, admittedly most of those I passed looked about 6 years old, but take it from me, the 6 year olds in North Wales are really fit!!!!

Here's the proof that I actually did run and made it across the finishing line:

Does my bum look big in this???? ;)

I even got a certificate!!!!

Some of my fellow radiographers are a lot less fat and unfit than I am and a number of them completed the Liverpool Half Marathon on Sunday. I'm seriously impressed by them, not only do they run in public but they do it for a long time and quite fast too!!! Here's Lucy after completing the 13 mile course, looking as fresh as a daisy:

Well done guys, I think you're all amazing :)

I think that'll do for now. I'll try to think of an exciting subject for next weeks update.