New Equipment To Fight Breast Cancer In The South

22 June 2013, 06:01

Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth's been given new state of the art equipment to help detect breast cancer.

The biopsy device has been installed to offer women in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas a much improved breast tissue sampling experience with a far higher likelihood of pre-operative diagnosis in a single procedure.

The Portsmouth Breast Unit is the first in the South of England to offer a service of this nature and now has a platform on which to base further key service developments in the future.

“The whole breast team are really excited to have this new piece of equipment to develop our vacuum assisted breast biopsy service at Queen Alexandra Hospital. We want to say a huge thank you to the hospital’s League of Friends who donated £32,000 and made the purchase possible,” says Dr Jonathan Nash, Consultant Radiologist.

“Previously if a woman was suspected of having breast cancer tissue samples had to be taken manually one by one if we needed x-ray guidance. The new device will take samples automatically once it has been positioned using the x-ray pictures. The process will be quicker, give better samples and be more comfortable for the patient.”

Jan Spear, Chair of the League of Friends commented: “The League of Friends were happy to help with the purchase of the Vacuum Assisted Breast Biopsy machine. This will take more accurate biopsies, therefore making the patients treatment less intrusive and more comfortable.”