Planned cancer centre promises faster diagnosis

Sarah-Jane Hogg of Friends of Anchor said the new facility was crucial

A planned new £2.5m cancer unit in Aberdeen is being aimed at improving diagnosis times.

Local cancer charities Ucan and Friends of Anchor have joined forces in a bid to raise the money needed to open the centre for people with symptoms of urological cancers.

The funding target is the end of the year, with the aim of opening the base within Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) in January.

Urological cancers includes prostate, penis and testicular cancer, as well as kidney and bladder.

The planned unit’s name - Sure - is an acronym for Swift Urological Response and Evaluation.

The aim is to allow more people with a suspected urological cancer to be seen quicker, and to have all their scans and tests carried out during a single visit to hospital.

Ucan has already secured £400,000 towards the costs, and now Friends of Anchor has pledged to match the fundraising as a 50% partner for the project.

Ucan had recently approached Aberdeen City Council and asked for £250,000 in funding for the project but was unsuccessful.

It is hoped the unit can speed up diagnosis times

Friends of Anchor’s chief executive Sarah-Jane Hogg said: "The Sure unit will enable crucial early detection and it will also be a place of support and holistic care for patients.

“There are a significant number of people throughout our region who have to travel from far afield, often on numerous occasions, to meet all the various appointments that are involved in obtaining a diagnosis for their symptoms.

"To be able to reduce that travel to just one appointment for a large number of patients, instead of four of five visits, is a huge benefit and reduces stress too.”

Kenny Anderson of Ucan had prostate cancer

Kenny Anderson, the chief executive of Ucan, said it had been a "challenging" process.

However he explained: "The publicity surrounding the council’s decision has actually brought forward one or two people and firmed up some ideas for fundraising.

“We’re at approximately £520,000.

“With Friends of Anchor coming in as equal partners, you can see us quickly getting to the target."

'Far more efficient'

Mr Anderson spoke about his own recovery from prostate cancer.

“I was diagnosed in 2018 and in that time you had a biopsy at the Ucan centre and thereafter you had to have an MRI," he told BBC Scotland News.

“You had to wait about six to seven weeks and then wait to see the consultant after that. The whole process in my case, pre-Covid, took about 11 or 12 weeks.

“A repeat of that, after this unit has been completed, would reduce my time to two days which is incredibly good and far more efficient.”

Ucan chairwoman Justine Royle, an ARI urological consultant, predicted the Sure unit could "significantly" reduce diagnosis times and improve outcomes.