Donation advances cancer detection

Trust funds therapy to tune of £70,000

Detection of breast cancer in the Island has moved a step forward thanks to a £70,000 donation from a Manx charity.

The Henry Bloom Noble Healthcare Trust is funding software for enhanced breast imaging at the hospital's dedicated breast unit.

The donation for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, or DBT, will help identify smaller cancers, increasing the detection rate by up to 40% and reducing the number of patient recalls. 

The Trust has made the donation to the Manx Breast Cancer Support Group, which has raised almost £1.9 million to build and equip the new unit at Noble's Hospital.

DBT is considered the future of breast imaging: it involves taking multiple pictures of the breast from different angles providing a clearer 3D view of breast tissues, to find cancers when they are smaller.

It's expected the technology will allow earlier treatment, reducing the need for invasive procedures, such as chemotherapy and mastectomy.  

It will also reduce the rate of false positives by 25% - which means fewer patients being recalled for further tests, only to be told they do not have cancer.

More than 6000 island residents are screen each year, and more than 100 women and men are diagnosed annually with the disease.

Support Group chairman Julie Stokes has said a 'massive thank you' to the Trust for its donation.

Trust chairman Terry Groves said "Our ambition is to help improve the delivery of high quality healthcare for the Isle of Man and investment in DBT will achieve that aim."

He added: "It is a significant sum of money, but was essential to secure this advance in the screening of breast cancer for the Isle of Man."