Health and Wellbeing

How innovations in proton beam therapy is changing the face of cancer care in Britain

By Professor Karol Sikora

Every day, we innovate. In medicine, we are always looking to improve our capacity to treat, and ultimately cure. When it comes to treating cancer, approximately 50 per cent of patients will undergo radiotherapy during their illness. The method in which they receive this, however, constantly changes. Recently, demand for proton therapy – a specialised form of radiotherapy – has surged, with the UK now a key provider of this advanced treatment. In contrast to conventional radiotherapy, proton therapy delivers beams of protons which are more targeted, reducing damage to peripheral tissue and organs.

Capacity to treat patients with proton therapy in the UK has gone from zero to thousands within three years, with the Rutherford Cancer Centres, which has a centre in Liverpool, now the biggest provider in the country. We got to that point through innovation.

The UK has been leading the international community in how we deliver proton therapy too. The Rutherford has introduced a technique called hypofractionation – the process of delivering higher doses of radiation per fraction, and using fewer daily fractions – to vastly reduce the duration of treatment for patients, according to new clinical evidence. As a result, we gain the benefits of proton therapy whilst making the whole experience easier for patients. The technique itself is not new. Hypofractionation is commonly used for conventional radiotherapy. By combining this method with proton therapy, in some prostate cancers we have been able to cut down a treatment plan which would traditionally have consisted of 37 sessions over seven and a half weeks to just seven sessions over two and a half weeks.

In a breakthrough in the treatment of some breast cancers too, using hypofractionation we can potentially cut the standard treatment plan of 25 fractions over five weeks to just five fractions over a week.

Currently, we are the only centre in the world to use that regime for protons. Proton therapy has radically changed how we treat cancer, and by increasing our capacity and developing new delivery methods, we are able to push and position the UK as a leader in the innovation in cancer care.

Find our more at www.therutherford.com

Are you worried about the long-term effects of

COVID-19 on your body?

The virus causing COVID-19 is known to affect different parts of the body and recovery time is unique to everyone. Many people do feel better in a few days or weeks but for some, symptoms can last longer. When we talk about ‘Long Covid’, we refer to the condition where people still experience symptoms of the virus within weeks or even months after their isolation period. Symptoms can be anything from profound fatigue, breathlessness and chest, joint and muscle pain to serious issues involving deficits in cardiac, kidney and liver function.

Two years in to the pandemic, we are still learning new things about the virus including the long-term effects on a person’s health. Details of Long Covid and its effects on health are still emerging, though research suggests 1 in 5 people who test positive for COVID-19 have symptoms for 5 weeks or longer. For around 1 in 10 people, they last 12 weeks or longer and those with mild symptoms at first have been known to have extended health problems.

What we do know about Long Covid is that it is complex, individual, unpredictable, and non-linear. To minimise the long-term impact, a health check is essential to devise a structured and personalised management plan. A Randox Health Long Covid Health Assessment can detect antibodies protecting you from COVID-19 as well as monitoring how well you have recovered post-infection. This is done via a simple blood sample collected by a trained professional at our Randox Health Clinic on Tithebarn Street, Liverpool.

We can’t change the fact you have had COVID-19, but this assessment will keep you well informed of vital areas such as heart health, kidney health and tissue damage as well as gaining a deeper understanding of your overall health. To book a Randox Health Long Covid Health Assessment, contact the Liverpool team today on 0800 2545 130 or email

liverpool.reception@randoxhealth.com

for more information.

Innovating health: how Medicash and

Health@Work are helping workplaces get wellbeing-ready for 2022

The new year is a time when we start to consider fresh starts – for businesses as much as individuals. During a period when many workforces are feeling the burden of pandemic burnout, employee wellbeing has never been a higher priority, with 68% of private sector and 83% of public sector leaders ranking wellbeing high on their agenda (CIPD, Health and wellbeing survey 2021).

Investing in health and wellbeing is consistently the most reliable way for businesses to refresh and revitalise their workplace, with opportunities for training and benefits like health plans regularly being mentioned among the most popular workplace perks. With the job market more competitive than ever and highly qualified candidates seeking out the best places to work, wellbeing is looking to be another key area of development for workplaces in 2022.

In response to increased demand and rapidly changing workplaces, providers like Liverpool-based Medicash have been busy modernising the health benefits market. Technological innovation has been at the heart of Medicash in recent years, with a focus on increasing the diversity and accessibility of their offering. While policyholders still find claiming cashback on their treatments like dental treatment, eye tests, physiotherapy, and even reiki to be a top benefit in relieving both financial and health-related stress, practice closures and cancellations have made claiming these treatments trickier in recent years.

As such, Medicash have been turning their celebrated claims app, My Medicash, into a healthcare hub for their policyholders. Having processed over 1.1 million claims via the app since 2014, Medicash have been able to develop it into a free, easy-to-use portal from which to access their variety of virtual and digital tools and services. These range from the ever-popular Virtual GP service to an app that detects the earliest signs of skin cancer, as well as an at-home physiotherapy tool that allows quick access to clinically-led recovery, and an encyclopaedic collection of home workouts, yoga exercises, and mindfulness guides for everyday wellbeing in the mProve YOURSELF app.

“By investing in and developing new technology to support our policyholders’ health, we’re aiming to make everyday healthcare as quick and easy to access as possible,” says Paul Gambon, Medicash’s director of sales and marketing. “Providing our customers with the very latest in healthcare innovation means that we can continue to support their wellbeing throughout the pandemic and beyond, as well as offering increased value for our corporate clients.”

In addition, Medicash’s sister company Health@Work have been investing in new training courses such as Mental Health First Aider training, allowing employees to best support their colleagues in need. The wellbeing training providers have also found that using technology has made it easier than ever for organisations to develop their wellbeing awareness.

“By offering training courses from stress management to wellbeing strategies either face-to-face or via webinar, our training sessions are both accessible and manageable for companies who are investing in their employees’ health awareness,” says Health@ Work’s director of operations Marj Murphy. “With the New Year being a stressful time for so many of us, knowing that our workplaces are able to provide support through training, employee assistance programmes, and great wellbeing strategies can be a fantastic means of relieving that stress for employees.”

Murphy also points to Health@Work’s nationally recognised accreditation, the Workplace Wellbeing Charter, as a way that businesses across the UK have been revitalising their wellbeing strategies. “Organisations that have been accredited with the Charter have reported an overall healthier workforce, with a deeper understanding of the benefits of wellbeing and a much-improved response to everyday workplace concerns like stress, exercise, and healthy eating,” she says. “It’s always a pleasure to be able to recognise the hard work of companies who take those extra steps for their employees’ wellbeing, and it shows just how much a great wellbeing strategy can impact an organisation’s ability to both attract and retain talent.”

To find out more about Medicash and Health@Work, you can find them online on www.medicash.tv and www.healthatworkcentre.org.uk.