Campaign for NHS Cyberknife Funding (UK)

from the IV MB, by yyy60:

** The Royal Marsden Hospital's CK is UK's 4th and St James Hopsital's is UK's 5th.

http://campaignforcyberknifefunding.blogspot.com/2010/10/campaign-for-nhs-cyberknife-funding.html

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Campaign for NHS Cyberknife Funding


Firstly, I would like to make clear that this Blog is not driven by any commercial imperative. I am just someone who has been lucky enough to have Cyberknife treatment (which in my case, was paid for by Charity). As a result I recognise it's value, and would like others to benefit.

Why should the NHS Fund Cyberknife?

*Cyberknife could turn some terminal cancers into chronic diseases. Cyberknife is so accurate that it can be used at a level that destroys secondary tumours, without damaging healthy tissue. This means that in certain slower growing cancers, such as Metastatic Breast Cancer (cancer that has spread from the breast to other areas of the body), Cyberknife can potentially destroy secondary tumours before they have chance to overwhelm the body and cause death. This would mean that Metastatic Breast Cancer, would effectively become a Chronic, rather than terminal disease.

*Cyberknife would be a cost effective way of treating of treating Metastatic Breast Cancer. Cyberknife would reduce reliance on expensive Chemotherapy, by checking the disease before it has chance to get out of control. The situation at the moment is that once cancer has spread significantly, the only weapon to keep it at bay is Chemotherapy - and many people live for several years on a highly expensive cocktail of Chemotherapy, that do little for quality of life.

*The cost of Cyberknife treatment will reduce as more and more NHS Hospitals are getting Cyberknife. Currently, there are only three Cyberknife machines in Britain. Two are located within Private Clinics at Harley Street, London, and the third is located within an NHS Hospital in Middlesex, ( Mount Vernon).

However, The Royal Marsden in London, and St James Hopsital in Leeds are due to get Cyberknife machines in 2011, so this will bring the cost of treatment down.