New treatment at PRI breast cancer centre

Jun 10 2011 by kbarrSUN, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

WOMEN from across Perthshire and neighbouring Kinross-shire yesterday hailed the opening of a key breast cancer centre in Perth as a major step forward.

Following the completion of the state-of-the-art nuclear medicine department at Perth Royal Infirmary, Big County residents requiring treatment for the disease are now able to receive specialist procedures at a site that for most, is much closer to where they live than other alternatives.

With the recent opening of the Fair City facilities, the NHS Tayside breast team is now able to offer sentinel lymph node procedures for patients with breast cancer at the hospital – a procedure previously only available in the breast unit at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

The sentinel lymph node is the first node where cancer spread to. If cancer is found, then further lymph nodes need to be removed.

However, if cancer is not found then fewer lymph nodes are required to be taken and the patient’s risk of lymphoedema is reduced.

During the procedure on offer at PRI, a radioactive substance is injected by the nuclear medicine team before a blue dye is injected near the tumour by the surgeon.

A special probe is used to detect the sentinel nodes to investigate.

NHS Tayside chairperson Sandy Watson said: “I am very pleased to see the introduction of this specialist treatment at PRI which will be of great benefit to patients in Perth and Kinross who will no longer have to travel to Dundee.

“PRI is now firmly established as a vital part of acute services in Tayside and the introduction of this procedure is an excellent example of joint working between the Tayside breast team and the nuclear medicine department, which is making a real difference to our patients.”

Consultant surgeon Emad Elseedawy, who operated on the first patient at PRI using this procedure last week, said: “This procedure is an established method for the treatment of breast cancer and we are delighted that our patients in Perth and Kinross can now be offered this at PRI.

“I would like to thank the nuclear medicine team and the rest of the Tayside breast team, particularly Mr Douglas Brown and Mr Andrew Lee, who have all been very supportive in bringing this treatment to Perth.”