'Robotic surgery helped me back to the job I love'
Charlotte Gregersen, 62, underwent thoracic surgery at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge to remove metastatic cancer in her right lung.
The minimally invasive operation removed a piece of her right lung but meant she could leave hospital the next day - and return to her designer and vintage clothing stall at Cambridge market within a month.
"The job I have is quite physical, so I had to make sure I recovered fully," she said. "I love working outside, I love my stall, and I've built up a good clientele that keep me busy."
Ms Gregersen's cancer journey began nine years ago and has involved numerous hospital visits for different treatments.
She was referred to Royal Papworth where her lung operation was carried out by a surgical team using the Versius surgical robot.
She said: "[Mr Aman Coonar] explained that the robotic-assisted surgery would be minimally-invasive and lead to a quicker recovery time.
"I had the operation through tiny incisions on the Monday and returned home on the Tuesday, which was very positive."
Versius allows surgeons to make tiny incisions to work precisely inside the chest cavity, which can be seen in a magnified 3D view.
Mr Coonar said the CMR robot meant patients "generally have little pain".
"The system is also portable meaning it can be moved between theatres, which means more teams can use it," he added.
"The system is improving all the time and our team is also getting slicker in its use.
"As the NHS England national lead for thoracic surgery, I can say that our thoracic surgery teams are committed to improving the care for cancer patients.
"We are also proud to be using British designed and British built technology."
Royal Papworth became the first UK hospital to use Versius for thoracic surgery in 2023.
Since then, surgical teams have used it to perform more than 250 minimally invasive procedures.
Massimiliano Colella, chief executive of CMR Surgical said: "Versius was created to bring more patients the benefits of robotic assisted minimal access surgery, so we are delighted to see the tangible positive impact Versius has had for patients like Charlotte, including improved outcomes and quicker recovery times right here in Cambridge."
Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
New treatment for heart valve disease in the east
Seven lives saved in seven days at Royal Papworth
'Lungs in a box' could increase vital transplants
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Scientists Just Linked This Diet to a Lower Lung Cancer Risk
Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD At this point, you've likely heard about the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet and the MIND diet. But there's one diet that might be new to you: the planetary health diet (PHD). The PHD was developed in 2019 by the EAT-Lancet Commission and focuses on promoting human health and environmental sustainability. The planetary health diet is primarily plant-based, focusing on fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains and unsaturated fats. It includes small amounts of animal-based proteins, including seafood, poultry and dairy, but these are eaten in much smaller quantities, as most protein comes from plant protein. Added sugars, refined grains and processed meats are limited or avoided. Research regarding the planetary health diet has been mixed, so researchers from Austria and Switzerland wanted to see what they could find out about the relationship between the planetary health diet and mortality, cancer and heart disease. They published their results in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. How Was This Study Conducted? Researchers drew their data from the UK Biobank, a long-running study that collects demographic, health and medical data from over 500,000 UK citizens. Baseline data were gathered between 2006 and 2010, with the average age at baseline ranging from 40 to 69. Assessments were repeated every few years and collected data on lifestyle, health status and diet. Researchers also had access to medical records and death registries. For this current study, researchers used varying numbers of participants for three different analyses: almost 205,000 were used in the mortality risk analyses, over 200,000 for the cancer risk analyses, and over 196,000 for the cardiovascular disease risk analyses. Adherence to the planetary health diet eating pattern was scored based on the inclusion of 14 primary food components of the planetary health diet. Participants scored one point for each food or food group they included, with a possible high score of 14. Scores for this study ranged from 1 to 11 points, which represents low to medium diet adherence. What Did This Study Find? After running statistical analyses, including adjusting for potential confounding factors (factors that might influence or change results), researchers found that: Every 1-point increase in the PHD score was related to a 3% decrease in all-cause mortality (risk of dying from anything). Every 1-point increase in the PHD score was associated with a 9% lower lung cancer risk. When all factors were fully adjusted for, no relationship was found in this study between the PHD and cardiovascular disease risk. There were several limitations of this study. Because comparatively few people in the Biobank were following a planetary health diet eating pattern, the confidence of these results is lower than it would have been had there been more people following it. Also, out of the five possible Biobank 24-hour dietary recalls, about 40% of the participants completed just one of them. Again, less data means less confidence in the results. And since the Biobank includes mostly white adults from Europe, it is unknown if the results can be generalized to other groups. How Does This Apply to Real Life? The term 'plant-based diet' can mean different things to different people. While some equate it to a vegan, all-plant diet, others see it more as making plants the foundation of your diet, while still including small amounts of animal-based foods, like eggs, dairy, fish and poultry. The latter is what the planetary health diet is about. It also limits added sugar, refined grains and processed meats. Eating more plants has many benefits, including reduced disease risk. This is in part thanks to plants' antioxidants and their ability to create a healthy gut microbiome by providing food for your gut's beneficial bacteria. A healthy gut can help lower chronic inflammation, which helps reduce disease risk. And while you can add helpful bacteria to your gut with fermented plants—like sauerkraut or kimchi—many people find it easier to get them in yogurt or kefir, which is where the animal protein can come in. It's easy to get stuck in a rut with fruits and vegetables, or to always turn to bread for whole grains. But there are lots of creative ways to use whole grains—like rice, quinoa, farro and oats—that don't include bread. Grain bowls are a delicious way to eat more plants, and they can be tailored to your taste and preferences. They're also easy to meal-prep for lunches throughout the week. We also love salads as meals. You can pack every food group into a salad if you want to. You'll love our filling, satisfying High-Protein Pasta Salad, Massaged Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Beans or Salmon Salad with Crispy White Beans. If you want more guidance and are ready to go all in on increasing your plant intake, check out our 7-Day Plant-Based High-Protein Meal Plan for Beginners. It's loaded with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins, like peanut butter, edamame and beans, to keep you full and satisfied. Whether you use the plan as is or use it as inspiration, you'll find it fun and easy to get more plants into your meals and snacks. Our Expert Take This study suggests that eating more plants may reduce your risk of all-cause mortality and lung disease. While this study didn't show an association between eating a plant-based diet and reduced risk of heart disease, other studies have. Just remember that eating more plants doesn't have to be all or nothing. Start where you're at and be intentional with choosing plant-based foods more often. Snacks can be an easy way to start. Instead of reaching for your typical snack, try a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit, or dip fruit slices into nut butter or veggie sticks into guacamole or hummus. Read the original article on EATINGWELL
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Failure to act on 999 call by authorities led to death of malnourished teenager and unwell mother
A teenager with learning difficulties would not have died if an ambulance had been sent to her home following a 999 call made three months before her body was found, a coroner has said. The bodies of Loraine Choulla, aged 18, and her mother Alphonsine Djiako Leuga were both discovered on May 21 last year at their home in Hartley Road, Radford, Nottingham. A week-long inquest heard that Loraine, who had Down's syndrome, was 'entirely dependent' on her mother, who had made a 999 call giving her address and postcode and asking for help on February 2 last year, while feeling unwell. During the 999 call, made shortly after 1pm on February 2, Ms Leuga groaned, requested an ambulance and said 'I need help to my daughter' and 'I'm in the bed, I feel cold and can't move' before cutting off the line. East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) did not send an ambulance to the address after the call was wrongly classed as being abandoned by the caller, the inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court was told. Summing up the evidence and recording her conclusion on Friday, Nottingham Assistant Coroner Amanda Bewley said 47-year-old Ms Leuga, who born in Cameroon, had frequently refused to answer calls and had gone away for periods of longer than a month. The coroner said she was 'astonished' that Ms Leuga and her daughter were found after a member of the public contacted police after noticing he had not seen them for a lengthy period, rather than by professionals between February and May. After adding that the city council's adult social care department had 'missed opportunities to intervene' and potentially secure a different outcome, the coroner added: 'I am entirely satisfied that had EMAS sent an ambulance to Alphonsine that Loraine would not have died when she died. 'She would most probably still be alive. 'I am clear that Alphonsine died first and Loraine died afterwards.' Ms Leuga died from pneumonia between February 2 and February 8, the coroner recorded, while Loraine had died from dehydration and malnutrition and 'survived her mother by three weeks or more'. The coroner added that she was 'confident to a point of near certainty' that had an ambulance been sent to the address on February 2, Loraine would have been discovered and arrangements made for her needs to be met. The inquest was told that Ms Leuga was admitted to hospital for a blood transfusion in late January last year as she was critically ill with very low iron levels, and was given a 'pragmatic' discharge linked to her daughter's care needs. Pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton told the hearing by video-link that the mother and daughter were both likely to have been dead for 'weeks to months' before they were found, rather than for days or hours. Dr Hamilton said his initial cause of death following a post-mortem examination on Ms Leuga was pneumonia of uncertain cause, while her daughter's cause of death could not be established. Answering questions from the coroner, the pathologist said he could not rule out that Ms Leuga had died on the day of the 999 call. The body of Loraine, who was born in Italy, showed no evidence of any third party involvement. Dr Hamilton said of the teenager: 'Unfortunately, based on the post-mortem examination and additional tests alone, it is my view that the cause of death is classed as unascertained – that is, I am not able to give a cause of death on the balance of probabilities.' In a statement issued after the inquest, Keeley Sheldon, director of quality at EMAS, said: 'I am truly sorry that we did not respond as we should have to Alphonsine Djiako Leuga and Loraine Choulla. 'Our deepest condolences remain with their family. 'We fully accept the coroner's findings. After our internal investigation, we made changes to our policies, procedures and training to ensure this does not happen in future.'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mom of Teen Blames Forgetfulness on Menopause. Then She Saw the Scans: 'All I Could Think About Was Not Being There for Her'
April Tate's tumor was deep inside her brain, and growing slowly A single mom is living with a shocking diagnosis. April Tate was working in childcare in Fife, a coastal community in Scotland, in 2018 when she forgot the name of one of the children in her care. April, who was 52 at the time, chalked the lapse up to hormones; as Harvard Health explains, forgetfulness and brain fog are commonly reported symptoms of menopause. But when she mentioned the memory lapse to her doctor, he asked her to come in for an evaluation immediately, according to Daily Mail. That's when doctors scanned her brain — and April was given the devastating news: She had a brain tumor. And while it wasn't cancerous, it was so deep in her brain that it couldn't be removed. As Mount Sinai explains, the type of tumor April has, a posterior falcine meningioma, is slow-growing, but in the part of the brain that focuses on movement, coordination, and "vital body functions such as breathing.' 'When they said I had a brain tumor, my first thought was that I was going to die. It was a numbing moment. I was a single mom, and my daughter Abby was still a teenager. All I could think about was not being there for her,' she told the outlet. 'When the surgeon explained the tumor was located in a really difficult part of my brain and he'd only attempted surgery in that area once before, it was hard to accept.' April was self-employed, which 'brought financial pressure,' as she had to take time off work for treatment, losing income. It 'just added to the stress.' She was told to 'watch and wait,' she says, with regular scans monitoring the tumor's growth. 'For a while, it didn't change much,' she explains. Still, 'it was terrifying to live with the unknown of whether it would grow or not. Over time, I began to adjust.' In late 2022, April was given the bleak news that the tumor had begun to grow, qualifying her for daily radiation. While she says the treatment itself 'was fairly quick each day … it was exhausting.' She had to wear a custom mask to keep her head completely still, a process that she said felt 'claustrophobic and intense … I just closed my eyes, listened to music and tried to stay calm. The hardest part came afterwards, with having to wait to find out if it had worked.' It did, she shared — and while she still has to undergo scans, she's been able to go back to work and increase her physical activity. She ran a 5K this year, and she's taking part in a fundraising challenge via JustGiving to pay for a single day of research at a Scottish brain tumor center. As she explained, 'What shocks me most is how little funding goes into researching brain tumors. That has to change.' And while she is grateful her tumor isn't cancerous, April explains, 'There's something in my brain that shouldn't be there, and it could change at any time. I even worried about how it might affect new relationships and not wanting to burden someone else with what I was going through. But we still deserve to live fully, and to love and be loved.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Read the original article on People
