New Cork initiative giving cancer patients their ‘freedom back’

An initiative that offers cancer patients the opportunity to self-administer a life-saving drug in their own home has been launched by the HSE South West.

The Cancer Centre at CUH is the first centre in the country to offer the Herceptin in the Home programme. 

Herceptin is a life-saving drug used to fight HER-2 positive breast cancer by stopping the cells from spreading and helping the body to destroy these cells.

It is a maintenance drug prescribed for people following their cancer surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy, with patients receiving it via injection every three weeks for life.

Clinical nurse specialist and project lead, Helen O’Shea, said the aim is to both improve access and convenience for patients receiving Herceptin, and use the programme to inform the wider development of home-based and community-supported systemic anti-cancer therapy pathways across Cork and Kerry.

Professor Dearbhaile Collins, clinical director of cancer services at HSE South West, said the initiative will have a profound impact on the daily lives of people.

“Living with cancer is incredibly tough, and spending hours in a hospital adds a lot of stress,” she said.

“Herceptin in the Home allows these women to live well with cancer. My ambition would be to grow and roll out this service region-wide across Cork and Kerry and potentially treat other types of cancer the same way.”

Katie Cooke, pharmacist at CUH, said that by bringing Herceptin directly into patients’ homes, “we are giving them their time back”.

“This is about making treatment easier, safer, and much more comfortable,” she said.

“It is a first for Ireland. Not only is it giving patients freedom back, but it is also freeing up staff and patient capacity at CUH, so we can care for more patients faster.”

The Herceptin in the Home programme is supported by the National Cancer Control Programme and reflects what the HSE said is a “shared commitment to advancing innovative and patient-centred models of cancer care”.