29/09/2025
💙❤️TEAM CARTER - LONG BUT IMPORTANT POST! ❤️💙
We have been busy again here at CTB carefully deciding where best to place funds which in total have now reached £549,665.98!💪🎉🙏
After various meetings with B*H over recent months, we have made the following decisions which we feel make a big difference across 3 main areas – Paediatric Cancer Research, Improving Children’s stays/reducing time at B*H & medical equipment that is not NHS funded. We could not achieve any of this without the longstanding, incredible & ever supportive Team Carter the Brave! THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone that has helped us make this impact & in particular to the AMAZING TEAM SAHARA that have funded 1, 2, 3 & 6 below! 🙏❤️💙💪
Further details on each project will be published as they progress & I attach a full up to date CTB expenditure summary.
1. Front Entrance Renovation (£50,000)
Carter the Brave is delighted to contribute substantially to the new Front Entrance. Last updated nearly three decades ago, the current main entrance is cramped, dull and unwelcoming and doesn’t reflect the world-class care that takes place beyond it. 54% of children are afraid of going to hospital so we are delighted to help B*H create a bright, spacious and child-friendly entrance which helps reduce fear and anxiety ahead of appointments. I know personally that this would have helped our visits enormously.
2. Medicinema (£10,000 initially with an annual £10,000 pledged)
We are thrilled to donate to the Medicinema - a fully accessible cinema – the largest of its kind in the UK and the first in the Midlands. It will provide meaningful respite from the wards and improve wellbeing for both long and short-term patients and their families. Bringing the magic of the movies to the hospital through a shared cinema space will create positive experiences for thousands of patients and their families every year and at no cost to them or the NHS. The cinema will be complete with 63 purpose-made, movie-style seats and is designed specially to accommodate wheelchairs, hospital beds and medical equipment to ensure as many patients as possible can access the screenings. Once complete, it will be the largest MediCinema in operation, expecting to provide around 260 screenings per annum and putting smiles on the faces of an estimated 5,000 attendees every year. We know this also would have been game changing for Carter as he missed out for 4 years on cinema trips.
3. Dr Potluri’s research into vulnerabilities of pre-leukemic syndromes (£24,441)
The research team has already made good progress on understanding the DNA damage response in Fanconi anaemia (a rare genetic disorder characterized by bone marrow failure, physical abnormalities & an increased risk of certain cancers) & identifying genes that influence sensitivity to chemotherapy. In doing so, there will be some insight into why the treatment for Leukaemia is successful for some children & not others. Dr Potluri will be attending the CTB Hollywood Ball to tell us more about his research & the impact it will have on patients.
4. Max Pachl’s Fluorescence Guided Surgery in Paediatric Oncology: From Bench to Bedside (£31,599)
This is an exvivo study on Wilms tumour fluorescence which has shown that some Wilms tumours fluoresce, and some don’t. This study could revolutionise the investigation of surgical dyes as one could test multiple different dyes on the same tumour without the need for xenografting murine models. This would transform the interpretation of certain types of tumour. Dr Pach’l says ‘ My studies are already producing groundbreaking findings and will continue to do so.’
5. Ifosfamide and Cyclophosphamide chemotherapy (£6469)
This research project tests whether giving certain chemotherapy treatments for children with Ewing’s Sarcoma at home or as an outpatient, instead of in hospital, could save money and reduce delays. The study found that outpatient care was nearly £10,000 cheaper per patient over a full course of treatment and freed up 56 hospital bed days, which are often in short supply. While families may face higher travel or parking costs, the overall savings for the NHS were consistent, even when tested against different cost scenarios. The report concludes that with the right patient selection and support, outpatient chemotherapy is a safe, effective, and more efficient use of resources, while still keeping patient and family experience central to future improvements
6. Butterfly IQ3 – Ultra Sound Venous Machine (£4500)
Carter the Brave has funded a wonderful new ultrasound machine, the Butterfly iQ3, which has transformed the care for many patients receiving intravenous treatments by helping to locate veins for easier cannulation. One such patient is 13-year-old Charlie, who experienced the new ultrasound machine in action. Although Charlie has received plenty of intravenous medications and undergone countless blood tests as part of his ongoing treatment for a brain tumour, both he and his mum, Moira, have come to dread the cannulation process. Thankfully, the brand-new Ultrasound Butterfly iQ3 has transformed treatment for patients like Charlie and their families. Moira said she has gone from dreading visits to knowing there is “nothing to worry about”. The Paediatric Chemotherapy Advanced Nurse Practitioner Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy Lead, Brian Carey, now regularly uses the new equipment to treat patients like Charlie. He explained that using the new ultrasound machine heightens the chance of finding a vein as, not only is it more accurate, but it can also locate veins unable to be seen with the naked eye. This means that much smaller veins can be used and, as a result, cannulas can stay in for five to six days. This is an incredible improvement from cannulation by hand —which only lasts one to two days— reducing the distress caused by frequent IV insertion. In addition to the vast improvement in patient care, Brian also explained that from a clinical perspective, the Butterfly iQ3 is significantly more efficient. The software allows the ultrasound probe to be plugged directly into an iPad or phone which, unlike larger models, allows it to instantly connect and record to ‘Butterfly’, a medical system used at our hospital. There are also lots of set up options for different cannulation and procedures, and everything is in one place. As Brian Carey aptly put, “If we didn’t have this machine, patients would be sent home [unable to have treatment]. It’s the gold standard.”
7. CT Intervention Kit (£80,800)
CTB are so pleased to purchase in FULL this new ‘CT Intervention’ kit. It will enable clinicians to perform procedures on patients with benign and malignant tumours whilst they are in the CT scanner. By enabling clinicians to see detailed X-ray images of a patient’s body as they carry out biopsies and treatments this kit will improve the accuracy and efficiency of critical procedures. With this CT-guidance, clinicians can carry out biopsies more quickly and accurately, increasing the chances of a successful diagnosis. CT-guided interventions are minimally invasive; many patients will not need stitches for their small needle site wounds and almost all children are sent home the same day. By avoiding the need for larger wound sites and longer hospital stays, CT-guided interventions shorten patient recovery times and improve patient experience.
SUMMARY - 7 amazing projects that will have a HUGE impact across research, well being & medical procedures!
THANK YOU ALL a MILLION times over!
❤️💙🎈🙏💛🎗️
