Clinical Trial Collaboration for Hunter Prostate Cancer Patients

 By SAMUEL BARTLETT

A collaboration between the Calvary Mater Hospital in Newcastle and the Hunter New England Health District's Department of Nuclear Medicine is enabling men to seek new and effective treatments for prostate cancer

The new injectable treatment allows local men to get access to this unique trial of treatment, which was previously only available in capital cities.

The results from the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP) "TheraP" trial released earlier this year confirmed the effectiveness of a new class of therapy for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

Dr Craig Gedye, Senior Staff Specialist in the Medical Oncology unit at the Mater, explained prostate cancer that has spread may be treated with hormones or chemotherapy, but if these fail, something else is needed.

He said, "this clinical trial is important as it shows that lutetium-177 PSMA radionuclide therapy (Lu-PSMA) is at least as effective as chemotherapy, but has less side-effects.

The TheraP trial was the first "theranostics" trial to be offered at Calvary Mater Newcastle through this new collaboration, which has led to a new trial called ENZA-p which combines Lu-PSMA and hormone tablets in men with advanced prostate cancer.

Dr Gedye said, "We do clinical trials for cancer treatments a lot, but never one where we've used this new kind of intravenous radiation treatment,"

He said, "in some men whose cancers are vulnerable to the treatment, we can give an injection of a radioactive material, that targets and hones directly into the cancer cells,"

"We're really lucky in Australia with a lot of treatments for prostate cancer, surgery, normal radiation, hormone treatments, and chemotherapy. This is a new treatment on top of that."

Lake Macquarie Man Fined $2,000 for Illegal Tyre Dumping

 By SAMUEL BARTLETT

A 43-year-old man from Bolton point has suffered a $2,000 fine for dumping nine tyres at Killingworth in early March.

Investigators from the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Illegal Dumping (RID) Squad detected the offence using covert surveillance cameras.

RID Squad Coordinator Rob Robertson explained, "we regularly use covert cameras to combat illegal dumping on Council land, or any other land where we have the owners or managers permission. 

More fines could be on the way as Mr. Robertson said, "we are still seeking a person for a second dump which was captured at this same location."

Tyres are seen as a particularly difficult type of waste which don't break down or perish and cause long running environmental problems when left.

Mr Robertson warned its much safer to pay the fee at a waste facility rather than suffer the fines for dumping.

"If you are caught illegally dumping, you will receive an on the spot fine of between $2,000 and $8,000. you must then remove and pay for the lawful disposal of the waste anyway," he said.

Larger amounts of waste dumping can result in a court appearance where fines reach over $100,000 for individuals.

"Don't put yourself in the position where you are regretting a poor choice regarding disposal of waste," Mr Robertson says.

Preserving the History of 'Doggyville' Lambton Shanty Town

 By SAMUEL BARTLETT

New stages of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass are expected to cut through what was once the Lambton Camp, a shanty town which housed up to 130 residents from the Great Depression until 1960.

Little remains of the shanty town also known as 'Hollywood' or 'Doggyville,' but Transport NSW is calling on residents to share their experiences to preserve the sites history, despite the new upgrades.

Transport NSW Regional Director, Anna Zycki says the camp was built alongside what used to be the Newcastle to Wallsend tramline.

"We want to know more about the living conditions in this camp, who the residents were or what their daily lives were like," Ms Zycki says.

"We also welcome contributions from historians with information or pictures they'd like to share," she says.

Transport NSW is employing a specialist archaeological team to investigate and recover whatever artifacts remain on the site which will then be documented and stored.

Ms Zycki says the information will be recorded in an archaeological excavation report and "it will be available to students and historians via Newcastle City Council, local libraries and the local historical society."

The build team will dig further into the site over a number of months to create a thorough historical recollection of the area.

Ms Zycki also says the historical work won't impact the completion date of the major upgrades as this research has always been part of the planning for the project.

To make a contribution to the Hollywood Heritage Project, contact specialist archaeologist Kylie Seretis by Monday 5 April, via email at kylie.seretis@caseyandlower.com.au or by phone on 0450 909 483

Portion of an aerial photograph from 1944 that shows the “Hollywood” settlement (left; Newcastle Library, Local Studies. [Run 5, Image 01465]) compared to Google Earth images as of 2014 (right)