Nantwich patients at Leighton Hospital’s Macmillan Cancer Unit have been boosted by state-of-the-art medical equipment.
A donation from charity organisation Boot Out Breast Cancer has provided the unit with a scalp-cooling DigniCap system.
The technology, developed by Dignitana, is designed to help cancer patients avoid chemotherapy-related hair loss.
During clinical tests, the system resulted in eight out of ten women retaining their hair during chemotherapy.
Funds for the equipment were raised through the charity’s annual Bollywood Ball event, held in March and attended by celebrities including patrons Alan Shearer, Andy Burnham MP and Dame Sarah Storey, Great Britain’s most decorated female Paralympian.
It raised more than £125,000 to provide the DigniCap technology to the NHS.
And Leighton Hospital was chosen to be the first hospital in the UK to receive the system, unveiled by Dame Sarah Storey (pictured, right) and Debbie Dowie, the charity’s founder and a breast cancer survivor.
Debbie said: “I am delighted we have been able to bring this fantastic technology to Crewe, as in my visits to cancer patients and their oncologists in the US and across the UK, I’ve heard nothing but praise for the DigniCap.
“This system will help us to make a real difference to the lives of cancer patients in the local community.
“My own experience with breast cancer taught me that it is essential to have confidence not only in yourself, but in your medical team and the treatments they recommend as well.
“We want to ensure that anyone with a cancer diagnosis has access to the highest quality cancer care available today.”
It works by monitoring the temperature of the scalp, ensuring comfortable and consistent treatment application.
Del Owen, clinical nurse manager for cancer at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is fantastic we have been chosen to receive the DigniCap system, and everybody in the team here is excited at the benefits that having access to this technology will bring to our patients.”
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