A health team who care for people with cancer has scooped a national award for its commitment to patients living with incurable blood cancer.
The haematology team at the University Hospital of North Tees was presented today with the Myeloma UK Clinical Service Excellence Programme (CSEP) Award.
This is in recognition of its outstanding care and dedication to patients with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer which claims the lives of 3,000 people in the UK each year.
Staff were praised for their efforts to improve patients’ quality of life and eagerness to listen to their needs.
The accolade, awarded by blood cancer charity Myeloma UK, recognises hospitals’ commitment to raising the bar for treatment and providing compassionate care.
Kerry Watson, Macmillan lead haematology nurse specialist at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We feel very proud. We are a small team here at North Tees and Hartlepool and really feel honoured to have received this award. Thank you to all members of the team, without whom we would not be able to deliver the excellent care which has now been recognised.”
Myeloma is especially hard to spot as the symptoms are often vague and dismissed as ageing or other minor conditions.
By the time many patients are diagnosed their cancer has often advanced and they require urgent treatment. This can significantly impact their chances of survival and quality of life.
Rhys Owens, clinical practice services senior projects officer at Myeloma UK, said: “Myeloma is a challenging cancer which keeps coming back and can be really difficult to cope with both physically and mentally, so we were hugely impressed with the hospital’s efforts to ease patients’ burden.
“Staff not only deliver truly outstanding care but they run education sessions with local GPs to help them spot the tell-tale signs sooner and ensure patients get diagnosed as early as possible.
“To see the team going the extra mile day after day to give those affected by myeloma a fighting chance to live well with cancer is truly inspiring.”
“The team have been there for me every step of the way…”
Pauline Stephenson, from Hartburn, discovered she had myeloma back in 2019, after experiencing severe back pain for close to nine months and being initially misdiagnosed with osteoporosis.
She was 70 years old.
By the time her cancer was caught she had holes, known as lesions, in her back and pelvis.
Five years on, the grandmother-of-three continues to defy the odds and she’s now thanked University Hospital of North Tees for supporting her through the rollercoaster of cancer treatment and giving her a chance to spend more time with her grandchildren.
“To be told you have something that won’t go away was hard,” said the 75-year-old. “But they’ve all been there for me every step of the way. [My nurse] Kerry was there from Day One. She always rings me after my bloods have been done to check that everything is OK. I can ring her any time if I have a query. They’re helping me live the life I want. I’m very thankful for them and for my family.”
Myeloma occurs in the bone marrow and currently affects more than 24,000 people in the UK.
It is a relapsing-remitting cancer, meaning that although many patients will experience periods of remission following treatment, the disease will inevitably return.
More than half of patients face a wait of over five months to receive the right diagnosis and around a third are diagnosed through A&E.
While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases. Treatment is aimed at controlling the disease, relieving the complications and symptoms it causes, and extending and improving patients’ quality of life.
Pauline knew something was wrong as early as January 2019. She and her husband were up in Edinburgh on a birthday trip and walking up the steps of the national museum felt like climbing a hill, she recalled.
“Struggling to walk was very unusual for me,” she said. “Two or three years previous to that I had had both my knees replaced and it was like I got a new lease on life. But walking up the steps of the national museum was like climbing a hill to me. I said to my husband, I’m really going to have to go to the doctors.”
She went to see her GP and, after some back and forth, was diagnosed with osteoporosis. She was given medication but, far from easing up her pain, it only worsened.
She added: “I was backwards and forwards to the doctors from the beginning of the year,” she added. “Initially they thought it was osteoporosis. It’s difficult to diagnose myeloma, you get all these symptoms which can be mistaken for other things. Some GPs will maybe never come across myeloma, or maybe only once or twice in their career. It’s important that more people are aware of the symptoms.”
Eventually a urine test revealed she had cancer. She was diagnosed with myeloma in October 2019.
She said: “In my heart of hearts, I had a feeling it might be cancer but it was a shock,” said the mother-of-two. But I’m one of those people who fight through things. You’ve got to get on with life.
“It will never go away. [My nurse] Kerry’s analogy was that myeloma is like a tree. It can be dead at the top but the roots underneath are still alive. It’s incurable but it’s manageable and you can’t ask for any more than that.”
Pauline received treatment straight away and, nearly five years on, her condition is still stable.
While the cancer has taken its toll over the years and Pauline now uses a stick, she is determined to make the most of the time she’s been given and create memories with her family.
“You’ve got to make the most of what you’ve got,” added Pauline, who’s sadly lost her husband since being diagnosed. “When I was diagnosed Dr Aung gave me seven to eight years but when you read about myeloma, some people are living a lot longer now.
“I want to see my grandchildren progress. My husband missed seeing my oldest one going to university and he would have been so proud of him, and likewise for the youngest one who is doing so well. I have been here to see them go to university and college and I’m very fortunate.”