Breast Cancer Awareness Month at New Victoria Hospital

New Victoria Hospital launches educational Breast Health campaign for patients.

Kingston Upon Thames-based New Victoria Hospital will launch a breast cancer awareness campaign that will run for the whole month of October. The initiative includes on-site educational activities and free patient events where Breast specialists will cover different aspects of breast cancer, from prevention to surgery options.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in the UK, accounting for 15% of all cancer diagnoses and making more women aware of their breast health through screenings has become a mission for many healthcare providers and charities.

New Victoria Hospital, a small independent Hospital, has partnered with Breast Cancer Now to support the Wear It Pink initiative and promote breast health with patients and staff this October.

Raising awareness on breast health

Women’s Health has always been one of the leading services at New Victoria Hospital. To meet the increasing demand in Surrey, they have recently enhanced their One Stop Breast Clinics to offer additional daily appointments with Breast specialists and new diagnostic technology for patients.

Raising awareness on breast cancer risk and supporting patients along their journey if diagnosed with breast cancer is at the centre of New Victoria Hospital’s campaign this October.

Professor Zoe Winters, Consultant Breast Surgeon and Angela Hawkins, Breast Cancer Nurse Specialist, will open the campaign with an online webinar dedicated to the importance of breast cancer prevention and the benefits of One-Stop Breast Clinic appointments. Angela Hawkins will talk about the support a specialist nurse offers in guiding patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Prof Winters comments, “I am honoured to be part of New Victoria Hospital’s initiative. My passion is trying to deliver “state of the art knowledge” to my patients in a One-Stop rapid diagnosis breast clinic on all aspects of breast health and breast cancer symptoms that allows each individual to understand basic mechanisms that help to explain what we do and why.”

“Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming and fear of the unknown is frightening. My role is to offer support and guidance and to help patients navigate their treatment journey.” says Angela Hawkins.

All events and activities will be free and open to all patients who want to find out more about breast cancer prevention and oncoplastic and reconstructive breast surgery options.

The other two appointments in October are dedicated to breast surgery with an online webinar with Consultant Oncoplastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Mr Paul Thiruchelvam and a face-to-face event with Consultant Plastic Surgeon Mr Theo Nanidis.

“It is extremely important to make women aware of the whole range of breast conserving treatment options available. Oncoplastic breast surgery has changed dramatically in the last few years, with the wider adoption of partial breast reconstruction using local chest wall perforator flaps. This extends breast conserving therapy to patients who would have otherwise only been offered a mastectomy. By adopting a personalised approach we are able to offer more cosmetically sensitive surgical options to patients with safe and effective outcomes.” Says Mr Thiruchelvam.

Reconstructive surgery can be performed at the same time as a mastectomy or a lumpectomy, and patients can achieve better outcomes in one operation as a day case most of the time. “The advantages of being looked after by a multidisciplinary team of specialists at New Victoria Hospital add value to the care that patients receive. Surgery can have a devastating effect on the patient’s body image, but with the numerous reconstruction options now available, patients don’t have to experience the negative psychological sides of seeing breast deformities after surgery.” says Mr Nanidis.

Find out more on Breast Cancer Awareness events at New Victoria Hospital on their website.