Ladies with a viable twin pregnancy can also have Harmony screening performed to assess for the risk of Downs, Edwards and Patau Syndromes, with greater accuracy than standard screening tests. This applies to both natural conception and IVF pregnancies and can be performed from as early as 10 weeks gestation.
Fetal gender can also be determined for twin pregnancies, with results being given as ‘ two girls ‘ or ‘ at least one boy’. ( It is not possible to determine if there are two boys as it only looks to see if the Y chromosome is present. )
This June, The Surrey Park Clinic is donating 5% of all revenue from pregnancy scans booked at the clinic to Sands, a charity that helps grieving families following the death of a baby. This is part of our ongoing commitment to support local communities and families on their journey to parenthood.
Sands provides vital support services to parents and families who have lost a baby through stillbirth or neonatal death. Their work is essential in helping these families rebuild their lives and come to terms with their loss. We are proud to be supporting them this year, and we hope that our donation will help them continue their important work.
Our team has the pleasure of being part of the entire journey for many women every year as they begin to start or grow their families. From fertility to pregnancy, recovery and beyond, we see the toll it can take on people’s mental and physical health.
If someone loses a baby, they can experience an incredibly isolating and life-changing period of grief. No matter the journey they went through to conceive, this is a pain that no parent should have to suffer through alone. This is why we feel it’s so important to support Sands, and other organisations like them, who provide invaluable support to families in their darkest hours.
Fertility
Even from the start of family planning, many couples go through tough times and difficult decisions.
Fertility services make up a really important part of what we do at The Surrey Park Clinic. From the very first consultation to discuss options through to rehabilitation after pregnancy, we understand that trying for a baby is not always easy. It’s a process that can be full of hope and excitement, but also worry and anxiety.
The Surrey Park Clinic has a dedicated team of Consultant Gynaecologists, who specialise in Fertility. There has been shown to be an identifiable reason for 80% of infertility cases, with 30% of cases being attributed to female factors, 30% to male factors, 20% to a combination of male and female factors leaving only 20% unexplained.
To combat this we can run hormone and reproductive immunology tests, semen analysis, hycosy and more. Following an initial consultation, if deemed relevant, you (and your partner) will likely undergo tests and investigations to determine any root causes of infertility.
Our diagnostic infertility tests help couples who are having problems conceiving. Understanding what is hindering your fertility will enable your consultant to recommend the most successful course of action. This means we can begin to undergo your journey.
We know that for many couples, fertility treatment is their last hope of having a baby. And while we are lucky to have seen beautiful success stories time after time, there are going to be cases in which it may not turn out as people may have hoped. If this happens, it’s important to have support available to get through it.
It’s charities like Sands that people rely on to get all of the information, advice and comfort they need.
More Information
If you too have been touched by the work SANDS are doing and would like to know more, please visit their website for more information.
Similarly, if you’d like to find out how you can donate through the services here at The Surrey Park Clinic or would like to book in for a scan, get in touch today.
Thank you for working with us and we hope to hear from you soon.
Harmony screening is a non-invasive screening test for certain Chromosomal abnormalities (Downs syndrome, Edwards syndrome and Patau’s syndrome) and can be performed as early as 10 weeks gestation and up to 21 weeks 6 days.
It has a high sensitivity of detecting an anomaly (98-99%) and therefore many ladies opt to have it performed for additional reassurance.
Ladies expecting Twins may also have this test performed. Harmony screening itself is a maternal blood test, however, all ladies coming for this test will also have a scan on the day to ensure their baby is doing well and measures 10 weeks or over. Results of this test are normally available after 10-14 working days, and one of our lovely Nurses will talk you through your results.
Many patients coming for pregnancy scans wonder about preparation. From 6- 8 weeks gestation we would normally recommend having a transvaginal (internal) scan to see the baby clearly.
For this type of examination, the patient is asked to empty their bladder. For scans 9+ weeks we can often do the scan abdominally (across the tummy) and a full bladder can help in getting a good view of your baby. Don’t worry though: if you’re not sure of your dates, or don’t feel you would be happy with an internal scan, just come to your appointment with a full (ish) bladder and we can discuss it all with you on the day.
Gynaecological cancers include cancers of the female reproductive tract, namely of the cervix, ovary, fallopian tube, uterus, vulva and the vagina.
There are many factors that cause gynaecological cancers. Cervical Screening and awareness of early signs and symptoms can result in the early detection of these cancers when treatment is more likely to be successful and a complete cure is a possibility. Diet, exercise and lifestyle choices play a significant role in the prevention of cancer. Additionally, knowledge of family history can increase the chance of prevention or early diagnosis by determining if someone may have a gene which makes them susceptible to cancer.
Over three-quarters of all new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 64 years. It is the most common cancer in women below the age of 35 years. The primary recognised cause of cancer of cervix is human papillomavirus infection (HPV). It is considered preventable as it has a recognizable precancerous condition and an accepted treatment modality for this precancerous stage. The NHS Cervical Screening Program is widely recognized to be one of the most successful cancer prevention programs in the world. Since its introduction, the number of cervical cancer cases has decreased by 7% year on year. The program aims to reduce the number of women who develop invasive cervical cancer (incidence) and the number of women who die from it (mortality). It does this by regularly screening all women at risk so that conditions which might otherwise develop into invasive cancer can be identified and treated earlier.
Ovarian cancer continues to be the most fatal of the female genital tract cancers. However, contrary to the commonly held perception, ovarian cancer is neither an asymptomatic disease nor a so-called ‘silent killer’. The initial presenting symptoms are often associated with other conditions, especially abdominal and gastrointestinal disorders till they become very obvious in advanced stage disease. A strong family history of certain cancers may indicate the presence of hereditary gene mutations. Irregular periods or post menopausal bleeding, lower abdominal, back ache and urinary frequency are symptoms which should prompt early investigation and referral to a specialist.
By Mr Jay Chatterjee, Consultant Gynaecologist, June 2019
To book your cervical screening or for more information, please complete the contact form below and a member of the team will be in touch within 12 working hours:
The lives of hundreds more cervical cancer patients could be saved if all those eligible went for screening, says a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Nearly 2,000 women’s lives are saved as a result of cervical cancer screening in England each year, the report found.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London said the biggest impact of screening was among women aged 50-64. Around 800 women die from cervical cancer in England each year.
Cervical cancer screening is offered to women in the UK aged between 25 and 64. Between 25 and 49, women are invited for screening every three years, and up to the age of 64, every five years.
Screening involves a smear test which searches the entrance of the womb for abnormal cells. This gives doctors a chance to remove tissue that might become cancerous.
11,000 records
The research team analysed the records of more than 11,000 women in England who had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. The researchers found that 350 extra lives could be saved if all women aged between 25 and 64 were screened regularly. And if there was no screening among 50 to 64-year-olds, five times more women would die from cervical cancer.
Prof Peter Sasieni, lead researcher based at Queen Mary University of London, said many women were alive and healthy thanks to the screening programme.
“The cervical screening programme already prevents thousands of cancers each year and as it continues to improve, by testing all samples for the human papilloma virus (HPV), even more women are likely to avoid this disease.”
Dr Claire Knight, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, recommended that women take up the offer to attend cervical screening when invited.
“It’s important to remember that cervical screening is for women without symptoms.
“Women who have any unusual or persistent bleeding, pain, or change in vaginal discharge – even if they’ve been screened recently and whatever their age – should get it checked out by their GP.”
At the Surrey Park Clinic we offer a private cervical screening service at your convenience. Find out more
Cancer of the ovariesis the fifth most common cancer for women in the UK, with about 7100 new cases each year but it is difficult to diagnose because it grows virtually unseen into the abdominal cavity.
Now a new study has found that levels of a protein called SOX2 are much higher in the fallopian tubes of women with ovarian cancer and those genetically predisposed to the disease.
The breakthrough could lead to early screening for the disease in a similar way to a cervical smear test.
Professor Ahmed Ahmed, from the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford University, said: ‘Ovarian cancer can be undetectable for up to four years and only a third of people with the cancer get an early diagnosis.
“A test for SOX2 could not only help detect cancers early but in some cases would enable us to detect a tumour before it becomes cancerous.
“Early treatment hugely improves the odds for patients, so early detection is essential. However, there is still a lot of work to be done because detecting SOX2 in the fallopian tubes is not an easy task.
“We are hoping that a test that is based on this discovery would detect the tumour at the pre-cancer state. A bit similar to what the cervical smear test does.”
The team identified an enzyme that enables ovarian cancer to spread and are hoping that it could be targeted with drugs.
Katherine Taylor, Chief Executive at research charity Ovarian Cancer Action, one of the study’s funders, said: “We need to save the lives of more women by making ovarian cancer treatment more effective.
“There has been little progress in ovarian cancer treatment in the past 30 years so these findings are promising, and have provided two areas of focus for scientists working on ovarian cancer.
“Early detection and effective treatment are vital, and these discoveries will hopefully being us closer to both.”
