In this episode, host Steve Bland takes a look behind the scenes at the vital work going on when it comes to diagnosing cancer, and the stringent safety checks in place.

Steve is joined by Ben Lamb, MDT Clinical Lead for the North East London Cancer Alliance and Ellen Quinney, Programme Manager, Diagnosis and Treatment, North East London Cancer Alliance, as they talk about bringing in the experts for a cancer diagnosis.

Ben and Ellen explain how when cancer is diagnosed, you are not just getting a single opinion, but one from a team of experts with a range of different skills and expertise. This is a key area of focus for the cancer alliance, looking at how improvements can be made to this process to speed up the time of results for patients, so that the right treatment can be provided at the right time.

Meetings to discuss a cancer patient’s diagnosis and treatment are called Multi Disciplinary Team Meetings, or MDTs. They are where a group of health and care staff who are members of different organisations and professions (e.g. GPs, clinicians, nurses) come together to make decisions regarding the treatment of individual cancer patients.

Ben and Ellen are leading a vital programme of work to improve the effectiveness of these MDTs. A key part of this is called Streamlining. This helps ensure that more complex cases go through a full MDT and more straightforward, easier-to-treat cases get support via a triage meeting and then progress to treatment quickly.

The benefit of this is that in simpler cases, patients get treatment more quickly and, at the same time, capacity for MDTs is increased for patients with more complex needs, so they can get the specialist levels of support required.

In this episode we're exploring how to teach cancer awareness early with the team from CATTS - Cancer Awareness in Teens and Twenties (CATTS). Host Steve Bland is joined by Jack Broadley, Managing Director of CATTS, Natasha Francis, School Engagement Officer at CATTS and Nikki Poland, Project Manager at the North East London Cancer Alliance. 

Jack and Natasha from Cancer Awareness in Teens and Twenties (CATTS) share their experience of working with schools to help empower young minds, raising awareness of cancer at an early age. This benefits both school children - providing them with invaluable health advice - and their families, encouraging more conversations at home.

This is part of an innovative project funded by the cancer alliance and led by project manager Nikki Poland. It is delivering a series of engaging cancer awareness workshops to Year 10 and Year 11 pupils in secondary schools across north east London.

The cancer awareness workshops cover: what is cancer, the signs and symptoms of cancer, how to check your body including breasts and testicles, how to reduce your chances of developing cancers including sun safety and promote healthy living. All this is in line with the PSHE curriculum.

The project has engaged with a number of schools to date, reaching over 5,000 pupils in the last 2 years. It is looking for more schools in north east London to get on board.

In this episode Steve Bland is joined once again by Toby Freeman, the founder and CEO of The Robin Cancer Trust and also Obi Onyiah, Prevention, Awareness and Screening Programme Manager for North East London Cancer Alliance, as we dive into the importance of knowing your body — from regular breast and testicular checks to recognising symptoms of common cancers such as womb, ovarian, prostate, and bowel cancer.

Learn about the role of family history, the importance of attending screening appointments like lung and breast checks, and how early detection can make all the difference. Don’t wait for a symptom to become a problem - take control of your health today. 

Plus, find out what's in Toby's box!

Join us for this essential conversation on how staying informed could change, or even save, a life.

This is the first of two episodes with Toby Freeman, CEO & Founder of The Robin Cancer Trust (www.therobincancertrust.org). In this episode Toby talks to host Steve Bland about raising awareness of cancer in young people and the impact of losing his brother, Robin.

At the age of 22, after Robin died from a late-stage germ cell cancer diagnosis, Toby founded The Robin Cancer Trust with a mission to save lives by raising awareness, delivering education, and offering support to young people affected by testicular or ovarian cancer.

This episode explores the impact of cancer on family members, especially when it comes to losing a sibling and how this can be a different experience from losing a friend or parent. For example, Toby talks about the moment when he became older than his brother, which was a very emotional milestone.

The episode talks about what support is available and what support would be helpful to have in place. It also talks about the work that The Robin Cancer Trust is doing to raise awareness of cancer and offering support to people affected by cancer.

In this episode of Taking Control of Cancer, Steve Bland is joined by Dani Binnington, the founder of the charity Menopause and Cancer, to talk about coping with, you guessed it...menopause and cancer.
 

Navigating menopause after a cancer diagnosis can leave you feeling unsupported, isolated and not knowing what your options are. Support is out there, and we explore this with help from Dani, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in her early 30s.

She went on to create Menopause and Cancer, which provides support for all those affected by menopause and cancer and more information about their work is on their website: https://menopauseandcancer.org/

Cancer treatment often triggers the menopause. In fact, 40% of women under 40 and 70%-90% of women over 40 enter permanent menopause as a result of their treatment. Many women say that navigating menopause after cancer feels harder than chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery altogether.

We discuss the facts about cancer and menopause, look at what to expect after a cancer diagnosis and when going through treatment. We talk through experiences of women going through menopause after cancer treatment, and look at the support that is available.

This episode provides some top tips on how to access support, how to connect with other women going through similar experiences, and the importance of getting access to the right information so you can make informed choices.

In this special episode to mark National CNS Day 2025, Steve Bland is joined by five guests to explore the role of a Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). 

In part one, Steve is joined by Kate Williams, the Macmillan Cancer CNS Development Lead, and Yvonne Beadle, from the North East London Cancer Alliance, and in part two, it's the turn of Kim Grove and Chelo Bou, Clinical Nurse Specialists from Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, and patient Peter Adams.

The CNS is a vital part of a cancer patient’s treatment, yet it's a role that is not so commonly understood. It is important to recognise the work that Clinical Nurse Specialists undertake and to raise the profile of the role to help encourage more people to work in this specialist field.

A Cancer CNS is a senior nursing role which focuses on the needs of cancer patients and their families. They tend to work in a specific cancer site and build extensive knowledge of the clinical and broader needs of patients with that cancer. They typically first meet patients at the point they are diagnosed with cancer and become an essential contact and support as they progress through treatment and beyond.

As well as exploring the day-to-day activities in more detail, this episode also compares the modern-day role to the past and how things have changed over the years. This includes the role of the cancer alliance in supporting the CNS workforce and the current challenges with recruiting nurses for the role.

It is a unique peak through the eyes of very experienced Clinical Nurse Specialists in north east London!

#NationalCancerCNSDay

In this episode we're Standing up to prostate cancer, busting some common myths and giving men the facts they need to help them survive prostate cancer.

Steve Bland speaks to Susan Piper, a Specialist Nurse at Prostate Cancer UK and Paul Thomas, Communications and Engagement Manager at the North East London Cancer Alliance.

Susan helps sort through the facts from the fiction about prostate cancer, giving key information to boost survival rates that everyone should know - not just men, but their partners, family and friends too.

This includes highlighting the support available from Prostate Cancer UK, encouraging men to have more conversations about prostate cancer and to reach out for advice and get checked.

The episode builds on our previous episodes on prostate cancer: one where a patient talked about his experience of prostate cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery, and the other where a British Athlete spoke about the risk of getting prostate cancer, particularly in the black community.

Although prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in England, survival rates for prostate cancer are good – when it is diagnosed early. If found at its earliest stage, all men are expected to survive, compared with around 49% of men when diagnosed at the latest stage.

For more information on prostate cancer, visit the Prostate Cancer UK website: https://prostatecanceruk.org/

#ProstateCancerAwarenessMonth

In this episode, it's all about collaboration as Steve Bland is joined by Femi Odewale, the Managing Director of North East London Cancer Alliance, to chat about his role, his background and why he's so passionate about what he does.

This episode takes a unique dive into the day-to-day activities of a cancer alliance MD and a closer look at some of the demands of the role.

It focuses on how a major part of this role is bringing together all partners to work together more closely and effectively to make improvements for patients. This is paying off, as reflected in local cancer performance results for north east London.

Find out more about the work of the North East London Cancer Alliance: https://www.nelcanceralliance.nhs.uk/

Death is something that happens to us all...but we shy away from talking about it. The result is that we are not prepared for it and the process becomes more difficult for family, friends and loved-ones.

Dr Kaythyn Mannix is leading the way in this subject area, and in this emotional episode she talks to Steve about what she has experienced both as a palliative care doctor, and as a best-selling author, winning an award for her book, ‘With the end in mind .’ Steve also shares how Kathryn helped him know what to look out for in the days and hours leading up to the death of his first wife, Rachael.

Talking about death isn’t easy, but it’s one of the most important conversations we can have. In this powerful episode of Taking Control of Cancer, we explore how opening up about end-of-life matters can help cancer patients and their loved ones navigate this deeply emotional journey.

Kathryn talks about how we can better understand and prepare for death (our own or somebody else’s). From breaking taboos to offering practical guidance, she delves into the ways these honest discussions can bring clarity, connection, and even comfort during life’s most challenging moments.

Find out more about Kathryn's work at https://www.kathrynmannix.com/.

In this episode, Steve Bland and Femi Odewale talk to stand-up comedian Karen Hobbs, who works with the leading gynae cancer charity, the Eve Appeal.

In her own brutally honest but hilarious way, Karen shares her personal experience of cervical cancer and also talks about her work with The Eve Appeal and the cancer alliance on the ‘You Need To Know’ womb cancer campaign. This campaign raises awareness of the main symptom of womb cancer, which is bleeding after the menopause. Karen brings her humour and vast knowledge to bring about more open conversations about signs and symptoms in private parts of the body, covering all five gynae cancers (womb, cervical, ovarian, vulval and vaginal).

More information about the You Need To Know campaign is here: https://www.nelcanceralliance.nhs.uk/about-you-need-know-campaign