Cancer Archives - Patient Experience Research Centre

Developing an implant to prevent breast cancer-related lymphoedema

30 October 2023

In conversation with: James E Moore Jr., Principal Investigator; Alain Vella, Research Engineer; and Arushri Swarup, Research Associate, from the Moore Research Group in the Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London

What is your research project about and what stage are you at?

We have developed an implant to prevent the onset of breast cancer-related lymphoedema (BCRL). BCRL is an under-represented condition that can occur following lymph node removal for the treatment of breast cancer. When lymph nodes are removed, lymphatic vessels (small vessels that transport fluid out of tissues) are damaged. In approximately 20% of patients this can lead to fluid build-up resulting in a swollen, heavy arm negatively impacting patients’ physical and mental health.

Lighting the way with fluorescence guided surgery Patient and Public Involvement in our PhDs

Naomi Asantewa-Sechereh

14 July 2023

In conversation with: Maria Leiloglou, Research Associate in the Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College London; and Martha Kedrzycki, Academic Surgical Registrar within the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

What is GLOW? GLOW stands for ‘Guiding Light Optimizing Wide local excisions’. It describes the fluorescence imaging empowering surgeons to provide accurate breast-conserving surgery to their patients.

1 in 7 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. Most of these women will have early-stage breast cancer, and as such their treatment will be breast-conserving surgery. In breast-conserving surgery only the tumour and a small amount of normal breast tissue (margin) surrounding the tumour is removed, allowing women to keep as much of the remaining normal breast tissue as possible.

A great day on Great Exhibition Road!

Halle Johnson

2 February 2023

This entry is part 9 of 11 in the series People's Research Cafe at the Great Exhibition Road Festival 2022

This blog is part of a series showcasing the People’s Research Cafe which took place on the 18th and 19th June 2022 in South Kensington, London as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival.

What is a People’s Research Café?

The People’s Research Cafe is a café with a twist. Visitors are welcomed to sit down at a table co-hosted by an Imperial College researcher and a public contributor whose role is to help the conversation flow freely. Over a free hot drink, visitors find out about the researcher’s project and will be asked for their opinions on it.

Reflections on developing and running a Science Café at the Cancer Research UK Imperial Centre

Katherine Baker

10 January 2022

Kelly Gleason, Lead Nurse at the Cancer Research UK Imperial Centre shares her reflections on starting and running a Science Café; a safe space to bring together researchers, clinicians and members of the public to learn and share knowledge about cancer research

How it all started?

In 2010 I attended the International Association of Clinical Research Conference in the USA. That year, the keynote speaker, Mr Charles Sabine, gave a very powerful and emotive talk about Huntington’s disease and the importance of research in this area.

Mr Sabine had lost his father to Huntington’s disease; his brother was in the advanced stages of the illness and he himself had chosen to have genetic testing to find that he too carried the gene for Huntington’s.

Evolving patient involvement: How local support and online resources helped foster patient involvement and improve the robustness of our study results

Philippa Pristera

9 November 2020

This entry is part [part not set] of 0 in the series Case studies

In conversation with: Emma Lidington, PROFILES Trial Manager

Working within/Team name: PROFILES Team, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, The NIHR Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research

The value of lived experience

Experts have recommended that academics should actively involve patients and the public in every phase of research to meaningfully incorporate the voice of those with lived experience. However, achieving this goal can seem daunting, particularly as an early career researcher. In our project, the level of patient involvement evolved over the course of the study, with the Public Involvement Research Hub and local funding from my institution as huge drivers of that change.

‘What makes you feel alive?’ A patient’s question inspires art and science.

Philippa Pristera

14 July 2020

CRUK Senior Research Nurse, Kelly Gleason, shares how one patient’s vision continues to inspire her, and influence how we involve and engage the public in healthcare and research design at Imperial.

Sunday evening, November 14th 2014, we stood in the dark on Exhibition Road, staring through the large glass windows into the main entrance of Imperial College London. There stood twenty-four portraits, assembled as six pillars, ready to tell their story. A woman in a black dress sitting on an aluminium step stool wearing a carnival headdress, a man in leathers on a motorcycle, a toddler in her dad’s arms gesturing a story with her hands, these were the people keeping Rina Dave alive.