Health & Lifestyle | Posted on June 5th, 2025 | return to news
Throat cancer patient praises Salisbury hospital equipment
The high-definition videoscopes are enabling patients with suspected head and neck cancers to get a faster diagnosis.
Peter Russell, a 67-year-old throat cancer patient, is full of praise for the new equipment at Salisbury Hospital which has been funded by the Stars Appeal.
The high-definition videoscopes, which cost a total of £115,000, are enabling patients with suspected head and neck cancers to get a faster diagnosis in the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department. The new equipment also makes the diagnostic procedure a more comfortable experience for patients.
Russell was first diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, which is a type of head and neck cancer that develops in the cells of the throat, in November 2019 after finding a lump in his throat. He undergoes regular checks using these scopes to monitor his condition and says previously it was an “incredibly uncomfortable” procedure.
He said: “I am so grateful to the Stars Appeal for funding these scopes. I am well used to this unpleasant procedure; however the new cameras make it so much more comfortable and for new patients they will significantly reduce the fear of having this procedure done. It was one of the most pleasant scoping experiences I’ve had in an unpleasant set of experiences.
“After my first treatment I was having them roughly once a month over four years. Sometimes it felt like going a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson and being punched in the nose. The new cameras made the procedure so much easier to manage.”
The new scopes provide doctors with the best quality images to assess and diagnose patients who have been referred to the hospital with a suspicious neck lump or a suspected head and neck cancer. They are also helping patients previously diagnosed with head and neck cancers as the images can be recorded and enable any changes to be detected more easily.
Since September, over 1,600 patients referred to the hospital with suspected head and neck cancers have benefited from the new scopes.
Russell underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy last year after a tumour was found. He said: “The unique nature of my cancer meant it kept coming and going so I always knew something was going to happen. This is why this equipment is really important to me because the doctors can see any changes over time. Often it is quite subtle changes that show something is happening.”
The scopes are part of a new ‘one-stop’ diagnostic service being led by the hospital’s ENT and Maxillofacial teams.
Prior to this, patients had to visit multiple departments across the hospital for diagnostic checks. Now they can have everything happen in one place meaning a less stressful, more efficient, and better service for patients.
Russell added: “For a patient that doesn’t know whether they have cancer or not, are scared, wondering what’s happening and if they’re even going to survive this episode, to have something that reduces the trauma that they go through is incredibly important and appreciated. For some people it will give them a very definitive answer and that there is nothing there to worry about.”
ENT Consultant Kostas Marinakis said: “The scopes have made a huge difference to the service we are able to offer, enabling more accurate diagnosis for our patients with a suspected head or neck cancer. The superior image quality gives us the best chance of detecting early cancers, thereby significantly increasing the chances of a cure. The scopes also make the whole procedure more comfortable and more easily tolerated by patients. Thank you very much to Stars Appeal supporters for making this possible. This is a significant quality improvement and we are incredibly grateful.”
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