from left, Dr Pippa Mills, consultant Peter Jones, patient Beverley Wilson and Dr Jenny Weeks.

by Mary Graham

A pioneering technique using ultrasound has been developed by surgeons at Maidstone Hospital, promising to remove some of the misery for women fighting breast cancer.
The research by surgeons and radiologists at the Peggy Wood Breast Care Centre is about to be published in surgery journals and could be adopted by surgeons across the world.

The new technique reduces the number of invasive procedures a woman undergoes to detect if cancer has spread.

The team which developed the technique are Peter and Sue Jones, Dr Ali Sever, Pippa Mills, David Fish and Jenny Weeks.
Breast surgeon Peter Jones said: “This is an absolute world first and nobody has previously been able to ultrasound this area in breast cancer patients before.”

Patient Beverley Wilson was one of the women tested as part of the research.
Mrs Wilson, who is now in remission, after being diagnosed in 2008, said: “This will make a difference to women in the future and I couldn’t pass up the chance to be involved.”

• For the exclusive story, see the Kent Messenger.