The UK’s youngest patient to ever be treated using a pioneering NHS cancer therapy right here in Manchester is celebrating a milestone anniversary this week.
Teddy Slade – who lives in Stockport, and has recently celebrated his fourth birthday – was just 18 months old when he was diagnosed with a rare and “terrifying” brain tumour that left his family “devastated”, but after he underwent surgery to remove the tumour, he was given a pioneering form of treatment named proton beam therapy at the then newly-opened centre at The Christie in Manchester for six and half weeks.
Proton beam therapy is a specialist form of radiotherapy that targets cancers very precisely by increasing success rates and reducing side effects, according to NHS England, which makes it an ideal treatment for certain cancers in children who are at risk of lasting damage to organs that are still growing.
The therapy has been funded on the NHS since 2008, but patients previously had to go abroad to get their treatment, and it was only when The Christie’s £125 million centre opened in late 2018, that patients could be treated in the UK.
Teddy was officially the youngest patient in the country to be treated at the UK’s first NHS high energy centre at The Christie.
And now, it’s a very different story.
Now, three years after the groundbreaking therapy was made available on the NHS in England, Teddy only requires regular check-ups to monitor his progress, and is described as being “a funny, little, cheerful character” who is enjoying pre-school, and living a full and normal life.
Teddy was given pioneering proton beam therapy The Christie in Manchester / Credit: The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Reflecting back on her son’s shocking diagnosis and how far he’s come, Teddy’s mum, Amy Slade, said: “It was a huge shock when Teddy was diagnosed as he was so young and to be told he had a brain tumour was absolutely heartbreaking.
“But the staff at The Christie are amazing [and] the proton beam centre is a place of hope.
“The care that Teddy, and the support our whole family received there, was first-class, and we are so very lucky to have this life-saving medical technology in Manchester”.
Gillian Whitfield – Teddy’s consultant at The Christie – added: “It is great to see Teddy doing so well and we were thrilled to be able to help him here at The Christie.
“Being able to give patients like Teddy this vital proton beam therapy in the UK is fantastic, as it not only reduces the side effects of treatment, but also means families don’t have to travel abroad as many did before the NHS opened the centre here in Manchester”.
Teddy was the youngest patient to be treated at the UK’s first NHS high energy centre at The Christie / Credit: The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
“Since Teddy first received proton beam therapy treatment at The Christie, over 700 patients in the UK, including 300 children, have benefitted from this pioneering treatment in the NHS,” revealed Dame Cally Palmer, NHS England’s National Cancer Director.
“This is a major milestone for the NHS,” she added.
“It marks the completion of our plans to deliver proton beam therapy in the UK and transform cancer treatment across the country”.
The NHS Long Term Plan aims to save thousands more lives each year by dramatically improving diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and by 2028, the NHS hopes that 55,000 more people each year will survive for five years or more following their cancer diagnosis.
Featured Image – The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
Trending
Kalvin Phillips is reportedly set to be reintegrated into the Manchester City squad
Danny Jones
Long-exiled Manchester City player Kalvin Phillips is reportedly on the verge of being reintegrated into Pep Guardiola’s squad this season.
The ex-Leeds United star, who signed for the Blues back in 2022, has still only made just 16 appearances for the club, but could now be eyeing up a potential renaissance.
Man City have made plenty of signings this year, but with a number of outgoings and several injuries in key positions, it looks like there could be an avenue for the one-time England international to fight his way back into the team.
As per Telegraph Sport‘s Mike McGrath, Kalvin Phillips is set to be reintroduced to City’s 25-man Premier League selection; the question is, can he make it into a first-team XI?
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Kalvin Phillips has chance to resurrect career at the Etihad Stadium after failed loan spells with Ipswich and West Ham
According to McGrath, Phillips will be “given a chance to resurrect his career at the Etihad Stadium” with the meat and potatoes of the 2025/26 campaign still yet to get properly underway.
Now 29, the Yorkshireman is well and truly within the crucial ‘prime’ years as an athlete, and after such an extended period on the sidelines, he’ll be more motivated than anyone to get his career back on track.
The central defensive midfielder – who was formerly considered a key cog in the middle of the park for Leeds – has spent two loan spells away from the Etihad, but neither really worked out for the undeniably talented footballer.
Having joined West Ham for the latter portion of the 23/24 term and spending the last 12 months on loan at struggling Ipswich Town, his time at both clubs was pretty forgettable, punctuated by little more than a couple of unfortunate red cards and more time on the bench.
Speaking to Sky Sports fairly recently, he confessed that the last couple of years have been very difficult and was visibly emotional discussing his struggles since moving to Man City.
It’s also worth noting that Guardiola himself has admitted to feeling “so bad” for Kalvin Phillips’ situation – perhaps why he now looks like he could be given a second chance.
CDM-wise, Rodri and Nico González are considered the go-to options, but Stockport-born Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovačić have also been used in the role.
Once again, although Man City face somewhat of an injury crisis ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend, any prolonged absences could at least see an opportunity arise for the forgotten man.
What do you make of Kalvin Phillips’ chances of being restored to the Manchester City squad and maybe even putting himself back into national team contention ahead of the World Cup?
Featured Images — Sky Sports (screenshot via YouTube)/pantkiewicz (via Flickr)
Trending
Manchester United are now investigating the curious case of… the missing boots?
Danny Jones
Manchester United Women have been left with work to do in their Champions League qualifier and might need to have a word with kit staff too, as the administration is now said to be investigating how a bag of boots went missing ahead of the crucial match.
Now this is the sort of stuff you really couldn’t write…
Yes, unbelievably, global footballing giants Man United had to quite literally pop to the shops to buy new football boots after a reported 13-15 pairs were lost before their first leg against Norwegian side, SK Brann Kvinner.
As per the likes of The Athletic and The Guardian‘s women’s football writer, Tom Garry, the majority of the players were left without anything to play in, resulting in the travelling squad having to go and buy replacements.
Manchester United were defeated 1-0 by Brann in the Women’s Champions League third qualifying round on Thursday after some of the squad’s football boots were lost on the way to Norway.
During the side's journey to the city of Bergen, where Brann are based, for the first leg of… pic.twitter.com/NjyaalHinJ
Citing Reuters as his primary source, Garry detailed how a bag containing several players’ boots disappeared during the journey to the game in Bergen on Thursday evening.
As a result, United are now investigating exactly how the boots went missing.
Marc Skinner’s side went on to lose the game by a single goal scored a quarter of an hour from the end in the third qualifying round, but remain confident they can turn the tide in the decisive knockout tie upon returning home to Leigh Sports Village on 18 September.
They are said to have arrived at a local shop, Torshov Sport, around three hours before kick-off (4:30pm local time), grabbing 15 pairs of boots and 20 sets of shin pads in total. Speaking to BBC Sport, owner Andre Gullord said they paid nearly £4,000 for the last-minute kit haul.
“We are a big store, but they were very lucky we had enough boots in stock that were the right size”, he said, adding that “they paid between £200 and £230 for each pair of boots and £30 for the shin guards.”
Quipping that they catered to the odd native player in the past but never a full team, he went on to joke: “Maybe we should have told them we only had boots with no studs to help the local team!”
It does give frantic pre-match Sunday league antics, doesn’t it?
city not getting bunnys visa, our plane catching on fire and united boots going missing oh i love the chaos of wsl in the uwcl https://t.co/mNTh83p0av
Many supporters have found it hard to believe how a sporting organisation as huge as the Red Devils can find itself in such unlikely circumstances.
Then again, unexpected and as yet inexplicable stuff like this can happen to anyone – even a sporting franchise as established and well-staffed as Manchester United.
It wasn’t all chaos and frustration, though; not only was it a record-breaking night in terms of attendance, but another plus was the midfield play from new signing Jess Park, who joined in a sensational swap deal with rivals Man City on deadline day. You can see the highlights from the game HERE.
🙌 16,019 at Brann Stadion 🇳🇴
A new attendance record for women’s football in Norway and for any UEFA women’s club qualifier 🤩#UWCLpic.twitter.com/YtlScWXewt