August Reflections: Working Together Through Challenge and Change

As August draws to a close, it’s been a month defined by teamwork, resilience, and quiet determination. With resident doctors on strike and many colleagues away on well-deserved summer breaks, departments across the UK have pulled together to ensure continuity of care, covering rotas, adapting workflows, and supporting one another through the seasonal pressures. I’m deeply grateful to all of you who stepped in, stepped up, and kept our services running smoothly.

One of the more pressing challenges this month has been the temporary shortage of technetium-99m pyrophosphate (PYP) kits. With Curium confirming a supply disruption and no UK alternative currently available, BNMS, in collaboration with the DHSC supply team, issued interim guidance to support departments through this period. Your adaptability, whether through protocol substitutions, patient communication, or governance planning, has been exemplary.

Looking ahead, I’m delighted to announce our upcoming BNMS research and educational webinars after the summer break. On Tuesday, 9th September from 6–7 p.m., Dr Richard Southworth will present new opportunities for cardiac molecular imaging in the era of total body PET. As you may recall these webinars are free to attend, recorded for later viewing, and offer 1 CPD credit in line with the Royal College of Radiologists’ CPD Scheme.

This year’s BNMS Autumn Meeting is already generating a buzz. I’ve been energised by conversations with our local organising committee, Matt, Saira and Marisa, and by the enthusiasm surrounding the programme and poster presentations. The meeting promises to be a celebration of innovation and the evolving landscape of nuclear medicine, with a rich programme spanning both diagnostic and therapeutic advances. Whether you’re presenting, attending, or supporting, your contribution matters.

Internationally, our collaborations continue to grow. I’ve been in touch with colleagues from SNMMI and EANM around and the potential for joint initiatives. These dialogues remind me how interconnected our field truly is, and how much we gain from listening across borders.

On a personal note, August has been a month of quiet resilience. Like many of you, I’ve been balancing professional with family responsibilities and personal grief. This month, I experienced one of the most difficult moments any pet owner can face: seeing the CT scan of my beloved cat, Simba, and hearing the diagnosis, aggressive nasal lymphoma. It was heart breaking. Thank you to those who’ve reached out with compassion and encouragement. It means more than you know.

But in that moment of grief, I was also reminded of the extraordinary things medicine can do. The precision of diagnostics, the compassion of oncology, and the tailored treatment plans available today, all of it speaks to how far we’ve come.

For those of us who share our lives with animals, we know they are not just companions, they are family. Simba’s care has become a deeply emotional journey, one that mirrors the same principles we hold dear in human medicine: empathy, excellence, and hope.

Our PET scanning service has witnessed remarkable remission of disease in patients with lymphoma, whose disease burden has melted away further to their treatment. These moments are more than clinical milestones; they are triumphs of science, compassion, and perseverance. They remind us that medicine has come so far and continues to evolve with breath taking speed. We now have tools that not only diagnose with precision but offer real hope, hope for healing, for time, for one more day of life.

And sometimes, that one day is everything.

To every clinician and researcher working to improve outcomes, whether for people or pets, thank you! Your work touches lives in ways that go far beyond the scan room.
To every colleague who makes these outcomes possible: thank you!
To every patient who walks through our doors, thank you! You are the reason we keep going.

Warmest wishes,
Prof. Sabina Dizdarevic
BNMS President