Colchester offering life-extending treatment for rare cancer

Patients with neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) in Ipswich and Colchester will now be able to access this life-extending treatment without long-distance travel.

It offers hope to those who can't receive treatments like chemotherapy, by transporting liquid radiotherapy directly to the tumour to stabilise or shrink it.

Dr Mary McStay, consultant gastroenterologist at Colchester Hospital, is enthusiastic about the impact on Ipswich patients.

She said: “We have brought a specialist treatment closer to home for patients.

The NET nuclear medicine team (Image: Submitted)

"We know some patients feel unable to travel due to being poorly, or they just don’t feel comfortable going to a London hospital for the treatment."

Being able to provide this treatment is a significant progress for the region, as it's now only the second hospital to do so in East England.

Dr McStay highlighted how the local health service strives to enhance people's lives.

She added: “Being able to offer this to patients from the Ipswich and Colchester area is a great step forward.

"We’re also hoping patients from the surrounding area will be able to come to Colchester Hospital for the treatment too.”

Affecting only a small number of people, NETs are predominantly found in the gastrointestinal tract and pancreas.

Many patients are diagnosed when the tumour has already spread across the body, and curative surgery isn't a viable option.

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The innovative treatment offered is not a cure, but it extends patients' lives.

Reiterating this, Dr McStay added: “This treatment is going to offer another avenue for patients and will give them a better quality of life.

"It isn’t a cure unfortunately, but is life-extending.”

With this new addition, Colchester Hospital continues to improve patient care and extend hope for those dealing with rare types of cancer.