Cancercast Cymru

From housing, to finance, to dog-walking, people living with cancer have important needs outside of their medical care. In this episode, we speak with the Improving Cancer Journey team in Powys, a unique new service to guide patients to the support and community that they need, and their experience of joining up health and social care.

With more patients surviving every year, work is rarely prioritised to ensure that people cured of cancer thrive after treatment. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Harriet Coxon, on her work to improve the lives of people with LARs after bowel cancer surgery, and how to build a movement for better quality of life.

In this episode, we speak to Dr. Mick Button and Christine Sillman, about their work to upskill more staff to give palliative radiotherapy, opening access, and reducing delays to treatment. Mike and Christine have worked across boundaries to extend these benefits across Wales, enabling relief, dignity, and more options for some of the most unwell patients across cancer care.

At-home faecal tests were introduced for patients with bowel cancer symptoms in 2020. During the height of COVID, Vicky Coppack established a service which puts patients and efficiency at the centre of this pathway. In this episode, we discuss her experience, and what the FIT hub might mean for Wales.

Dr. Sadie Jones is early in her career as a gynaecological oncology consultant, but is already building an impressive body of research and quality improvement work. Focussing on Sadie’s work in prehabilitation, we discuss the future of these underserved cancers in Wales, and her tips for improving services within the NHS.

Every month in Wales, nearly 3,000 people are investigated for suspected bowel cancer: the second biggest cause of cancer death. In this episode, we meet three teams across Wales who are rising to meet this challenge. Dr. Heather Wilkes, Michael Eastwell, Louisa Edwards, and Sarah Maund discuss how their projects are collectively moving towards a shared vision for better bowel cancer diagnosis.