Camden New Journal - Health: Royal Free trials for cancer treatments

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Camden New Journal - HEALTH by JAMIE WELHAM
Published: 04 October 2007

Mo Keshtgar, consultant at the Royal Free

Royal Free trials for cancer treatments

New procedures could slash patient waiting times

TREATMENT times for breast cancer patients could be slashed after a raft of new techniques went on trial this month at the Royal Free Hospital.
New recruit Mo Keshtgar – a consultant breast surgeon previously at University College Hospital – has introduced a number of pioneering techniques to give cancer treatment in the borough a welcome boost.
Mr Keshtgar, who became the hospital’s second consultant at the beginning of September, said the trials marked a watershed in breast cancer treatment: “Waiting times would fall dramatically if the NHS backed these trials – not to mention the money they could save. The Royal Free has always had a good reputation but this could be a new era for treatment and potentially more than 100 patients could benefit.”
The trials are open to all breast cancer patients at the Hampstead hospital until September and are part of a wider course of trials being conducted on 1,000 patients in 17 hospitals across the world.
One of the techniques – intraoperative radiotherapy – could save patients up to 30 daily visits to hospital, by performing the procedure immediately after the tumour is removed while the patient is still under anaesthetic.
Mr Keshtgar said: “Previously patients would need a six-week course of radiotherapy following surgery. This new machine does away with that and would significantly ease the burden on radiotherapy departments which are swamped with breast cancer treatment.”
The Royal Free’s breast cancer charity Cancerkin is campaigning to raise £250, 000 to keep the state-of-the-art machine which is currently on loan from its German manufacturers.
Another technique developed in Japan will mean that women needing a mastectomy – the surgical removal of a breast – will be able to have the procedure done by keyhole surgery rather than with a knife.
The Royal Free is the first hospital in the UK to offer this service.
Mr Keshtgar said the procedure could mean an end to scarring after reconstructive surgery. He said: “Because the breast is dissected and the tumour removed through a tiny hole using a microscopic camera there is no scarring. This is what puts so many people off surgery.
“Inflatable implants can also be inserted through the hole and it only adds about half and hour to the operation. Cosmetically it is a vast improvement.”
About 100 patients have already signed up to the trials.

Smoke free for Ramadan

CHAIN smoking Bangladeshi men are being urged to kick the habit for Ramadan.
Camden Primary Care Trust (PCT) has teamed up with the Greenlight pharmacy in Euston to try and curb the biggest smokers in England during the Muslim holy month.
The scheme – Quit Smoking for Ramadan – which was launched two weeks ago to coincide with the month long fast, offers smokers support from Bengali-speaking advisors, prescription medication and the added incentive of free international phone cards.
Burgeoning smoking rates within the Bangladeshi community gives them the unenviable distinction as the biggest puffers in England – more than 40 per cent of men are smokers compared with 26 per cent of the population as a whole.
But nicotine cravings are a thing of the past for Faruk Miah, who was a
35-a-day man before he attended a session run by Dipul Ghosh, the founder of the scheme. Mr Miah said: “I had tried to quit smoking by myself by cutting down my cigarettes but I just went back up again, it was not working at all. Then I went along to one of the sessions and I was prescribed nicotine patches and nicotine gum. I haven’t touched a cigarette for six months now.”
Riba Kalhar, from Smokefree Camden said: “A planned quit attempt, with support and stop smoking medication makes a person four times more likely to stop smoking successfully than if they used willpower alone.”
n To make an appointment telephone the English line 0800 1070401, the Bengali line 0800 131 3825 or make an appointment with
Greenlight pharmacy, 138 Drummond Street on 020 7387 3233

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