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Late effects clinic leads the way
An internationally recognised clinical research team, which supports cancer survivors from all across the region is going from strength to strength, ten years after it received its initial funding from Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity.
Back in 2001 a small team of interested clinicians, including consultant endocrinologist Professor Ross, secured the first funding award from the Cancer Charity and used it to appoint Dr Diana Greenfield, then a research fellow, and to develop its research programme.
Since then the Cancer Charity has awarded just over £1million in research grants to the Late Effects Group, Sheffield, to support its research programme and Dr Greenfield has moved into the health service to bring the research into practice.
Dr Greenfield, consultant nurse and an honorary lecturer at the University of Sheffield, said: “The support of the Cancer Charity has been crucial to help us develop our research programme and this has had a knock-on effect in developing a pioneering clinical service for cancer survivors, which, at its inception was believed to be one of its kind in the western world."
“The money from the Cancer Charity enabled us to research the late effects of cancer treatment, to publish our research in journals, raise public and professional awareness and to broaden and enhance our clinical service. Since then we’ve been able to help an increasing number of patients who are surviving cancer. It is an excellent example of the university and the health service working in partnership to put research into practice.”
Pictured (from left to right): Prof Richard Ross, Consultant Endocrinologist, Dr Jane Fearnside, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Dr Diana Greenfield, Consultant Nurse, Prof Robert Coleman, Consultant Oncologist, Prof Stephen Walters, Medical Statistician.
The late effects clinic at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is renowned for its work to help adult survivors of childhood cancer who are at risk of developing side-effects from the powerful cancer treatments that save lives. The clinical service, held at both the Royal Hallamshire and Weston Park Hospitals, has now been extended to care for other cancer patients treated for cancer in all our local hospitals.
Thanks to improvements in treatment many more patients are now surviving cancer for longer than ever before. But health professionals are increasingly aware that survivors face many challenges, as in some cases powerful, life-saving cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, can cause side effects ranging from fatigue, to impaired fertility, and even causing damage to organs such as the heart.
This is why Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity – which supports research at Weston Park Hospital – has played such a crucial role in enabling experts to take on the latest challenges that come from cancer care.
Dr Greenfield said: “With modern cancer management, many more cancer patients are surviving cancer. Whilst this is good news, we are increasingly becoming more aware of the long-term and late effects of cancer and its treatment.
“In our late effects clinic we do see patients who develop chronic health problems as a direct result of the treatment they received for cancer.
“Most problems are manageable if found early enough. That’s why assessing and screening patients in a timely and systematic way is becoming more important - either to help prevent problems altogether or decrease the impact."
“We are beginning to consider how we best care for patients with treatment consequences. Simple measures, such as individual care plans and helping patients to make the right health choices for themselves, will help. We have got a lot of work to do but we are making progress."
“We screen patients at risk of side effects and offer advice and support to manage their health in the long term.”
Rachel Thorpe, director of Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, said: “We are very proud as a charity to have played such an important role in supporting this research group, which is now internationally renowned, and is making such a difference to the lives of survivors.
“I’d like to thank all our supporters as this is a fabulous example of how money raised from donations, or by taking part in an event, really does make a huge difference to the lives of cancer survivors from across the region.”
Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity needs to raise £1.3 million a year to continue to support for patients from Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Worksop, Chesterfield and beyond, who benefit from donations made to the charity.
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