Episode 10 – Dominic Culligan, Advances in Treatments… and Leeches!

Dr Dominic Culligan, Consultant Haematologist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, talks about advances in the treatment of blood-related cancers. Mention is also made of leeches making a comeback for medical treatment purposes!

The following points are among those covered in this episode:

• Erica Banks, Communications Lead for Friends of ANCHOR, sets the scene for the imminent ‘Brave’ and ‘Courage on the Catwalk’ events. Attention is also drawn to Matt Huntington’s amazing 25+25+250 running challenge, which Matt is hoping to complete this month. Donations to Friends of ANCHOR in support of Matt’s efforts can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mattruns4anchor [00:47]
• Mike talks to Consultant Haematologist, Dr Dominic Culligan, about his medical career, the development of better targeted and less invasive blood cancer treatments, and the remarkable contribution made by Friends of ANCHOR through its patient welfare and staff research initiatives, complemented by its provision of equipment and training opportunities. [05:34]
• The ‘From the Archives’ and ‘Finding the Words’ features have been omitted this month to make room for the full interview with Dominic Culligan, but the ‘And Finally’ slot is retained and focuses on a treatment used in haematology in the past that wasn’t covered in the discussion with Dominic: the deployment of leeches to treat certain conditions because of the supposed benefits of using them to draw blood from patients! It turns out that leeches are currently making something of a comeback because of the invaluable contribution that they can make to certain medical procedures, most notably amputation scenarios! It turns out, also, that one of only two registered leech farms in the whole world is located in a tiny Welsh village just outside Swansea and, at any one time, it can be cultivating up to one hundred thousand of these ‘blood-sucking worms’! [30:00]

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