Taking Control of Cancer

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 miss...

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...

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 fro...

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 can...

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 ma...

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 a...

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 aw...

In this episode, Steve Bland and Femi Odewale speak to 'local GP of the year in 2019' Dr Farzana Hussain about how to help encourage people to come forward for life-saving screening and to get checked for symptoms by their GP.   Farzana is a passionate, charismatic GP from the London Borough of Newham, with a vast experience of supporting local people in north east London. She cares deeply about h...

In this episode, Steve Bland talks to British athlete Joe Appiah, who shares his experience of prostate cancer and talks about prostate cancer risks, urging men with a higher risk to take action.   Joe is a British athlete with an impressive array of championship titles across hurdles, long jump and triple jump. Joe’s friend and hurdling rival was diagnosed with prostate cancer himself and encoura...

In this episode, Steve Bland and Femi Odewale are exploring the Targeted Lung Health Check programme and finding out how it is saving lives through early diagnosis of lung cancer, as well as the support available to help people stop smoking.   Our guest is Stephanie Uys, Clinical Director for Targeted Lung Health Check Programme in north east London. Stephanie leads the Targeted Lung Health Check...

In this episode, host Steve Bland and Femi Odewale, the MD of the North East London Cancer Alliance, take the pod on the road as they visit Maggie's Barts and explore the fantastic free support that is available for cancer patients to help them both prepare for, and recover from, their cancer treatment.   Guest speaker: Victoria Curran, Centre Head, Maggie's Barts Victoria leads the team at the wo...

This episode of Taking Control of Cancer features an inspirational breast cancer story from diagnosis to treatment and recovery. Host Steve Bland and North East London Cancer Alliance Managing Director Femi Odewale speak to Pamela Okyere, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2021. When Pamela was diagnosed, her immediate thought was that she was going to die. However, after surgery, chemot...

Welcome to episode two of Taking Control of Cancer, the podcast from the North East London Cancer Alliance . In this episode, award-winning former BBC podcast presenter Steve Bland (You, Me and the Big C) chats to prostate cancer patient Kevin Kibble, who provides some great advice on how to keep fit and healthy after finding out you have cancer. Kevin has recently joined North East London Cancer...

Welcome to episode one of Taking Control of Cancer, the podcast from the North East London Cancer Alliance . In this episode, award-winning former BBC podcast presenter Steve Bland (You, Me and the Big C) is joined by Professor Charles Knight MD FRCP, who is a consultant cardiologist and chief executive of St Bartholomew's Hospital, part of Barts Health NHS Trust AND the chair of the Cancer Allian...

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