Spinal cancer is one of the most common secondary cancers, which can lead to double incontinence, paralysis and death within 30 days.
The BBC has been given special access to the team at The Clatterbridge Cancer Center in Liverpool and the patients they care for.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of a woman’s back are being projected on to a wall and they can see cancerous cells in her spine.
Within 24 hours, a patient needs radiotherapy treatment if not they may end up being paralyzed or die within a few weeks.
Yvonne Naylor has emergency diagnosis and treatment for spinal cancer within 24 hours. She went to The Clatterbridge Cancer Center, where a team of health professionals specializes in the early detection and treatment of emergency spinal cancer.
Yvonne Naylor, at the age of 73 already knew that she had lung cancer but came on to the team’s radar after having back pain.
Urgent MRI scans at her local hospital, in Warrington, followed by computed tomography (CT) scans on Liverpool, proved that cancerous cells had spread from her lung to her spine.
This is known as metastatic spinal-cord compression (MSCC), where the cancer presses on the nerves in the spine which passes messages between the brain and the rest of the body.
If urgent actions are not taken, it can cause serious disability, including permanent paralysis, incontinence and a less life span.
The BBC have revealed guidelines on how the NHS help individuals with MSCC will soon be updated- based partly on data collected by the Clatterbridge service, which has increased the average patient’s survival rate by six months and improves the quality of life.
Robert Glayzer was a patient at the age of 75, where he started with a back pain while playing golf.
After receiving emergency treatment for spinal cancer, Robert was asked to lie flat on his back in a hospital bed. He was treated at The Clatterbridge and within a day he was able to come home and back on his feet.
He got down on one knee and proposed to his partner of 14 years Lynda, conscious he may not make it to 15.
Kate Parker developed the only specialist-cancer team in the UK that runs the entire week.
The Clatterbridge model of early detection, quick intervention and education should be emulated across all services in England and Wales, new guidance from the medical body NICE is expected to say when published.
Local GPs and hospitals across Cheshire and Merseyside have been by a team to detect early warning sign, such as bladder or bowel dysfunction, difficulty walking, numbness and back pain, and it’s very important to carry out urgent MRI scans when red flags are detected. For advice and support a hotline is available.
If secondary cancer is detected on the spine, patients are admitted to The Clatterbridge for further scans and radiotherapy treatment. This should all take place within 24 hours after diagnosis.
Kate Parker, who developed this method seven years ago says, as a radiographer, I was frequently seeing patients coming for treatment paralyzed, incontinent and dies within a month. But presently patients get to spend time with their families and friends for many months instead of lying flat on their back in a hospital bed.
