In preparation for our next Happy Hour on the 6th January, this is a short reminder of the highlights from our last Happy Our on the 2nd December 2020 – last year! Those who were there will have met Professor Gina Brown, who we thank very much for attending and giving us updates on the PREVAIL project and on the latest from the Pandemic front line.To join:
Of course things have moved on dramatically since then, as we have heard on the news and we did not know then that we would be so severely restricted over Christmas.
Highlights from the 2nd December:
PREVAIL is gaining speed and Professor Brown told us of the power of the patient voice that the PREVAIL project has tapped into. It has been used to inform the Pan London Cancer Group, drawn from four sectors in London, that has been meeting every two weeks since the Pandemic began, and the Transforming Cancer Team. Professor Brown’s firm opinion is that the patient voice is proving transformative and leading to new ideas, such as including GPs in patient consultations with their consultants.
RTD continues to support PREVAIL, not only by providing patient input but by also joining the team to effect the changes that PREVAIL is defining. Julia and Rosey are providing change management methodology and Professor Brown feels that this will help achieve practical change to treatment pathways, that would normally take years, in very short order. We are of course excited and dedicated to our task – we will continue to update you.
Update on the Pandemic is that plans are in place to provide vaccinations for cancer patients with outpatient appointments, and Professor Brown underlined the safety of these.
Other Breaking News is from a trial called FOXTROT that has been looking at the differences in giving chemotherapy before or after surgery. The trail has shown that chemotherapy given before surgery resulted in more tumours being removed while at an earlier stage. The intent is now to widen the trial to all bowel cancer patients, especially older patients. The current trial is a randomised international trial, including 12 to 14 UK hospitals, and is aiming to increase the number of patients benefiting from deferral of surgery, after they undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy before being assessed for surgery
Upcoming RTD Events:
NEXT HAPPY HOUR on the 6th January 2021 – COME and bring FAMILY and FRIENDS
RTD 2021 LAUNCH on the 21st APRIL 2021
PUT THEM IN YOUR DIARIES – they will be fun.
Join us at our next Happy Hour on the 6th January from 6.00pm to 7.00pm, with lines opening from 5.45pm, with our normal agenda, of a maximum of 10 minutes each to the first three items, so leaving a good half an hour for number 4 focused on patients:
- News of RTD funded research – where there is any to report since last time
- News update on practical patient matters, especially from our clinicians, in particular our clinical nurses
- Breaking news on any relevant research by the RMCH – where there is any to report since last time
- Patient discussion – any tips, useful experiences, initiatives, requests for help with anything
And of course, please let us know what you would like to hear about next time? Let us know and we will do our best to cover it.
Looking forward to seeing you all next month.
To join: RTD Happy Hour Register
Best wishes,
Julia
