Better outcomes for lung cancer patients at Blackrock Clinic

18th Jun 2016

Today, in the hospital, we hosted a very successful conference on achieving the Best Lung Cancer Outcomes in the Modern Era.

Our keynote speaker was Professor Peter Goldstraw, the world’s foremost expert in the area who spoke about the next version of TNM staging for Lung Cancer.  TNM is the international classification for tumours and their size.  It was a fantastic honour to have him at the hospital and this was reflected in the seniority and calibre of attendees who came to hear him speak.

Professor Goldstraw was supported by a number of other fascinating international speakers including  Dr Stuart McKechnie, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Oxford University Hospital; Dr Jason Lester, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff, and  Mr Kelvin Lau, Consultant Thoracic Surgeon, Lead in Thoracic Surgery at St Bartholomews’s Hospital, London.

All discussed their various perspectives on how to achieve the best possible outcomes in lung cancer, both today and in the future. 

Our own team at Blackrock Clinic also spoke. Thoracic surgeons, Ms Karen Redmond and Ms Donna Eaton chaired a multidisciplinary discussion of difficult case scenarios.  Dr Seamus Linnane, Consultant Respiratory Physician chaired the symposium.

Blackrock Clinic is the only private hospital with a Multi Disciplinary approach to lung cancer.  Patients can depend on a multidisciplinary team of consultants – including Radiologists, Histopathologists, Microbiologists, Medical Oncologists, Intensive Care Anaesthetists and Thoracic surgeons – to assess them and determine the best care path.

Another benefit at Blackrock Clinic is that all lung cancer work, and particularly complex cases, has the benefit of the state of the art ICU and other key dedicated support staff such as physiotherapists and nurse managers.

All of this means that extremely complex procedures are performed by the Blackrock Clinic team, where previously they may have been the preserve of larger, specialist or teaching hospitals.  The MDT approach at Blackrock Clinic also means better patient outcomes – which was, of course, the subject of discussion at the symposium.