The undisputed Queen of Cake Mary Berry unveiled the first fixed site Positron scanner at the Royal United Hospital yesterday.
Over the past five years, £1.2 million has been raised by the Bath Cancer Unit Support Group (BCUSG) and its Trowbridge branch to purchase the scanner, making The RUH the first hospital in the south west of England to offer PET-CT scans to its patients.
The installation of this scanner is seen as one of the most significant developments in the treatment of cancer at The RUH.
Mary and her family have been supporting the BCUSG Positron Scanner Appeal for a number of years.
Dr Richard Graham, a consultant radiologist at The RUH described PET-CT scans as: “A revolutionary type of scan which can have a significant effect on patients’ treatments. Statistics show that one third of treatments are modified following PET-CT scans because of the precise nature of the images produced by the scans.”
Speaking about the unveiling, John Carter, the chairman of the trustees of BCUSG, said: “There is no doubt that this scanner will be heavily used. The RUH will be utilising the PET-CT scanner for four major activities, the diagnosis and monitoring of cancers, the planning of radiotherapy treatment, the testing of new cancer drugs and the early diagnosis of Alzheimer disease.”
Since BCUSG was founded in 1985 in excess of £3.27 million (excluding the Positron Scanner Appeal) has been raised by this local charity and spent on providing a range of facilities for cancer patients attending The RUH.
After the unveiling of the scanner, Mary headed to The Bath Priory to host afternoon tea with two lucky prize winners from the charity auction to raise money for the scanner.
Left to right: Krzysztof Chmielewski, Agnieszka Chmielewska, John Carter, Mary Berry, Alessandra Brownsword, Samantha Coles and Lynne Coles outside The Bath Priory.
The auction took place at the RUH last month and raised an impressive £3,065 for this prize alone.
As the new president of the National Gardens Scheme, of which The Bath Priory has been a member for over 10 years, Mary also met The Bath Priory’s head gardener and The Bath Magazine‘s contributor Jane Moore.
Mary was able to visit the peaceful surroundings of the gardens before meeting the prize winners and enjoying afternoon tea with them, which was prepared by Sam Moody and his team at The Bath Priory.
Main image: John Carter, the Chairman of the Bath Cancer Unit Support Group with Mary Berry.
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