What does do how can help? a guide to who we help how can help us to do even more
St. Mark s Hospital Foundation is dedicated to bringing about a world free from the fear of bowel disease through Research, Education Dissemination of Clinical Excellence St. Marks St. Mark s Hospital Foundation, the registered charity of St. Mark s Hospital, is dedicated to bringing about the vision of a world free from the fear of bowel disease. The Foundation aims to achieve this vision in two ways: Funding the Hospital s world leading medical research that is fighting bowel disease on all fronts, and Funding St. Mark s Academic Institute in order to provide advanced education programmes for the global medical profession with the additional aim of disseminating clinical excellence throughout the UK and the rest of the world. If desire to see a better future for people with bowel disease, support St. Mark s Hospital Foundation and in so doing enable the Hospitals dedicated team of world renowned doctors and surgeons to create a world free from the fear of bowel disease. 1
Where we began. The world s first specialist bowel disease Hospital St Mark s was founded in 1835 as the World s first specialist bowel disease hospital. Today, located in Harrow, North West London, it maintains its position as the world leading, specialist bowel disease hospital. With a uniquely multi skilled team of Consultants and Medical Staff, encompassing all bowel disease medical disciplines, St. Mark s possesses the capacity to treat complex bowel disease other medical establishments cannot. St Mark s is the National Referral Hospital for complex bowel diseases. With a world leading medical team, building on 175 years of accumulated expertise and a long and distinguished track record of developing new world gold standards of treatments, St. Mark s is ideally placed to research and develop the vital next generation of treatments to beat bowel disease. Why bowel disease research is important Bowel cancer, the second biggest cancer killer, claims 622,000 lives worldwide each year. Crohn s disease and Ulcerative Colitis, painful and debilitating diseases afflict 240,000 people in the UK alone. With so many lives at stake we must intensify the fight against bowel disease by developing new treatments and new cures. Without new treatments many lives will be lost. With proper investment we can beat bowel disease Bowel disease can be overcome with sufficient funding. The survival rates have improved dramatically over the years but the battle has not yet been won. Whilst there is no cure for IBD, surgical and medical treatments are becoming ever more effective at managing these conditions. 2 3
What we do. Our research St. Mark s Hospital supported by the Foundation is a research powerhouse, developing new and advanced treatments for bowel disease sufferers. Some examples of our current research work are:- Minimally Invasive Surgery. We are developing new advanced, minimally invasive surgery to improve the current situation where 30% of the bowel has to be removed, including healthy tissue, to excise a cancerous tumour. Removing less of the bowel reduces, or could avoid, the risks associated with major surgery. Crohn s disease. New targeted drug therapies that work only on the affected area of the bowel are being developed. Targeted therapies aim to reduce the negative impact on healthy parts of the body that can be caused by the current powerful drug therapies that affect the whole system. We are also researching ways of ensuring existing drug therapy is more effective and striving to understand the key causes of Crohn s disease and Ulcerative Colitis to develop a cure. Fistulae. We are developing new, advanced, surgical and medical treatments to greatly alleviate the symptoms of fistulae; large, painful, sceptic infections in the skin that present in over 60% of all Crohn s disease sufferers. Tissue Engineering. We aim to grow new bowel for patients from their own remnant healthy cells. This research has the potential to help people who have lost the majority of their bowel due to Crohn s disease or trauma. This procedure aims to enable sufferers to regain the ability to absorb nutrients by eating food rather than spending long, frustrating hours being fed through a tube. Colonoscopic Surgery/early detection, treatment and prevention. We are researching new advances in minimally invasive colonoscopic surgery for pre cancerous and early cancerous growths. Integrating with our large scale bowel screening programme for early detection and prevention, if caught early, bowel cancer removal by colonoscopy is 100% successful. 4 5
Ways can help The National Health Service cannot fund the medical research that is needed to advance the frontiers of bowel disease treatment. Donations must be found. Help add bowel disease to the list of global killers that have been eradicated by medical research Below are ways that can help. Please act today. An invitation to help build a future free from the fear of bowel disease. If feel passionately about beating bowel disease please choose a way to join the fight by ticking a box below, and return to St. Mark s Foundation today. Sponsor a research project. Yes, I would like to discuss sponsoring a research project. Become a Patron. St. Mark s must attract 100 patrons to support the many research projects that need funds. Yes, I would like to become a Patron (minimum donation 10,000). Leave a gift in r will to St. Mark s Hospital Foundation. Make r legacy to future generations a world free from the fear of Bowel Disease. Make a donation at a level of r choice. I would like to make the following donation: I enclose a cheque/voucher for made payable to St. Mark s Hospital Foundation Please charge my Debit/Credit Card for as my gift to Hospital Foundation Card type (eg Visa, Delta, Mastercard) Name as it appears on r card email address / telephone number Expiry Date Fundraise for us. Security Code (Last three numbers on signature strip) Set up a Tribute Fund in memory or honour of a loved one. Nominate St. Mark s as r work place s Company Charity of the Year. Become a Volunteer Fundraiser for St. Mark s. However decide to support us in our fight against bowel disease St. Mark s Hospital Foundation want to hear from. Please complete this form and a member of our team will contact. Please contact Anthony Cummings, Executive Director, on 0208 235 4042 or Anthony.Cummings@nhs.net if would like to discuss any matter. 6 7
What do our patients say about us? After more than 20 years as a patient at St. Mark s Hospital for Crohn s disease, and many operations to remove diseased intestine Gareth, 40, is left with less than two feet of lower intestine. Gareth says: I am not helped by a medical team but by my team, some of whom are like part of my family. When one is stuck on a ward on a drip for the length of time I have been in the past it is marvellous beyond words that I can now come and go and get on with my life. St. Mark s really saved me. Pearl, aged 76 says of her treatment at St. Mark s: I am convinced that my rapid recovery from bowel cancer was due to my having keyhole surgery. My rehabilitation continued at an accelerated rate. I couldn t have been better treated if I had paid 1Million. Radiology Nursing IBD 2 Fistula Endoscopy Robotics Flex Tissue Support Inflammatory Bowel Disease 1 The Issue IBD is a chronically debilitating and highly distressing lifelong condition that affects very many people. Symptoms include constant fatigue, pain and deep disfiguring infections, called fistulas. There is presently no cure for IBD. There have been substantial advancements in the control and management of IBD. There remains, however, a great need to research into improved ways of controlling and managing the disease and understanding the causes of the disease, so it may be controlled more effectively and one day cured. Our Response a) Making current drug treatments more effective Vitamin D is highly efficacious in the treatment of rickets, and has shown promise in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis and Tuberculosis (TB). St Mark s is undertaking major research to establish whether super doses of vitamin D ( 100,000 units) can help boost the immune system in Crohn s disease sufferers. If so, vitamin D can be given as a supplement to the current drug treatments, steroids and biologic drugs, thus enabling a reduction in the strength of their dose. Strong doses of steroids and biologic drugs can have detrimental side effects. St. Mark s is planning to carry out a large scale research trail to establish the efficacy of vitamin D in the treatment of Crohn s disease. b) Finding the key to unlock the cause of IBD and developing a targeted treatment There is no definitive reason why IBD occurs nor why Crohns disease affects people in different parts of the gastrointestinal track. In addition, it is not known how and why biologic drug treatments, such as infliximab achieves remission from flare ups for some patients and not for others. 8 IBD 1 continued on back of card
St. Mark s Hospital Foundation Northwick Park, Watford Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3UJ tel: 020 8235 4042 email: anthony.cummings@nhs.net web: www.stmarksfoundation.org St. Mark s Hospital Foundation is dedicated to bringing about a world free from fear of bowel disease Registered through Charity No. Research, 1140930 Education and Dissemination of Clinical Excellence