Two years ago, a doctor looked at a CT scan of Stuart Morley’s kidney and saw a tumour. It was small — only 15 millimetres — but the Cobourg resident was over 80 years old, so major surgery wasn’t the best option for him. Instead, he was a candidate for a minimally invasive interventional radiology procedure.
Stuart became the first-ever patient at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) to receive life-changing cancer treatment by interventional radiology-radiofrequency ablation.
The amateur photographer and retired radiographer tells how PRHC’s Dr. Kebby King put a metal probe through a small cut in his skin and, using a CT to guide her, found the tumour and dissolved it with radio waves.
“It was amazing,” Stuart recalls. “I felt no pain and I was able to go home later that afternoon. Now I’m back taking photos and looking forward to travelling the world again. I worked in diagnostic imaging for 12 years. But back in the ’60s, we could never have imagined the kinds of things doctors can do these days.”
Interventional radiology is often described as ‘the future of medicine’. It’s used to diagnose and treat a wide range of emergency and chronic health conditions such as cancer and other illnesses, without the use of conventional surgery and the associated pain, complications, and longer hospital stays.
For patients in the Peterborough region, this means they can go home sooner, with less pain and less risk, all without having to travel far away.
VIDEO: Interventional Radiology is helping to revolutionize cancer care at PRHC
Interventional radiologist Dr. King describes that difference as “night and day.”
It’s remarkable how many life-threatening health conditions can be diagnosed and treated with this innovative specialty. It can be used to biopsy or treat tumours like Stuart’s, put in ports for chemotherapy, or stop bleeding — in as little as an hour.
Dr. King and her colleagues already perform 6,000 interventional radiology procedures each year at PRHC, and the need for this kind of care is only growing in our region. PRHC’s interventional radiology suites are 14 years old, however, and are too small to fit new advanced technology and the staff required to use it.
A $6 million investment in state-of-the-art equipment, upgraded suites, and an expanded recovery room is essential to meeting the need — so more patients with more complex conditions can be diagnosed and treated close to home.
Grateful for the great care he received and determined to help pave the way for new ground-breaking therapies to be offered at PRHC in the near future, Stuart donated to the PRHC Foundation for the first time. He wants to support the interventional radiology renovation and upgrade, and he knows that the government doesn’t fund hospital equipment.
“Our regional hospital needs our help,” Stuart says. “I’m asking everyone to join me in donating to support the interventional radiology facilities. Pictures can save lives. I know this because medical imaging saved mine. Now, our donations will help others. Thank you for helping to give people like me a brighter future.”
Not only do donations fund state-of-the-art technology not funded by the government, fuel innovation, and bring new services to our region, they also help PRHC attract and retain the best and brightest healthcare professionals. Doctors, nurses and staff want to do their jobs to the best of their abilities, and advanced equipment and innovative treatments support them in doing that.
This holiday season, donors and grateful patients like Stuart can help ensure PRHC’s frontline workers have the tools they need to provide expert, compassionate care, and receive some good cheer. Tribute donations can include a message of thanks or best wishes to a hospital department or individual physician, nurse or staff member when made online at prhcfoundation.ca or by phone at 705-876-5000.
To donate, find out more about interventional radiology, or share your own PRHC grateful patient story, please visit prhcfoundation.ca or call 705-876-5000.
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