Charity launches appeal to improve cancer care

28 October 2022

Hampstead residents are being urged to support a fundraising appeal that could see the introduction of London’s first one-stop NHS lung cancer diagnostic service at the Royal Free Hospital.

One fifth of respiratory patients have fluid in their chest cavity. To determine if this is a symptom of cancer, patients are currently referred for a lung biopsy to specialist surgical centres. Patients wait on average between two and four weeks for the procedure. It is undertaken under general anaesthesia and requires an overnight stay in hospital.

The Royal Free Charity is fundraising to introduce London’s first thoracoscopy service at the Royal Free Hospital. For patients with a fluid-filled lung cavity, it will mean they’ll get their symptoms treated at the same time as having a biopsy, merging two steps on the cancer pathway into one. That could see patients starting cancer treatment up to four weeks earlier.

Dr Anant Patel, consultant respiratory physician, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Medical thoracoscopy is the means by which we can have a direct look inside the chest cavity, the space that’s outside the lung but inside the rib cage. This is a space that’s affected by many cancers and some benign diseases as well, in particular lung cancer.

“Having access to this space and being able to take the fluid away will relieve breathlessness while taking bigger biopsies will reduce the need for patients to have further onward, repeat biopsies.

“At the Royal Free London, we already have the second highest one year survival from lung cancer in all of England and Wales. What we would like to do is speed up our pathway. Instead of patient having all of their diagnostic tests completed within four weeks after they see a consultant for the first time, they could have all of their diagnostic tests done on the same day and come back one week later for the results, allowing a quicker referral onto surgeons or oncologists for their onward treatment.”

Three cancer improvement projects 

It is one of three cancer improvement projects the Royal Free Charity is raising money for this winter on behalf of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. With funding, the other two areas that could see changes are:

• Expanding a digital mammography service to Barnet Hospital so that people with suspected breast cancer can have a quicker and more accurate diagnosis followed by faster access to treatment.
• Using virtual reality to improve the experience of patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy at Chase Farm Hospital and Finchley Memorial Hospital. Patients would have a variety of immersive experiences to choose from, from calming, meditative apps that invoke the sensation of walking in nature or deep-sea diving to playing action-based games.

Jon Spiers, Royal Free Charity chief executive, said: “We’re extremely grateful that the support of our local community in recent years ensured we could address some of the most pressing needs of the Royal Free London’s staff and patients in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now, we’re turning our attention to cancer. We want to fund projects that will speed up diagnoses for lung and breast cancer – getting patients onto their treatment pathways sooner than would otherwise happen – and introducing virtual reality therapy to give patients receiving chemotherapy a better experience during their treatment.”

The number of people with cancer in north central London is due to grow from 42,000 to 60,000 by 2030.

To support the Royal Free Charity’s appeal, visit www.royalfreecharity.org/future

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Notes to editors

The Royal Free Charity is an NHS charity supporting the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. Its vision is for everyone served by the Royal Free London to have access to world-leading healthcare, delivered by a thriving workforce and driven by medical research that has a global impact. The charity funds medical research, facilities and services at Barnet, Chase Farm and the Royal Free hospitals, all of which is made possible thanks to the generosity of supporters.