Welcome back to That Cancer Conversation!

Artificial Intelligence is no longer science fiction. It's here and it's becoming part of our everyday lives. But what happens when AI steps into the world of healthcare? Could it actually help us beat cancer?

In this episode we’re joined by Lara Lewington, a technology journalist and author of the bestselling book, Hacking Humanity: How technology can save your health and your life. Lara explains how AI is shaping the healthcare of tomorrow and how it could change the way we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

We’re also joined by Professor Peter Coveney, from University College London. He discusses his work on digital twins - a virtual version of you that could help make real-life healthcare smarter and safer.

We discuss the risks and benefits of AI and ask one of the biggest questions: could AI ever replace doctors?

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Discussed on today's episode:

AI could improve cancer diagnosis – if we get these 5 things right

Digital twins and Big AI: the future of truly individualised healthcare

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For more cancer stories, visit Cancer News

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Welcome to series 4 of That Cancer Conversation!

We kick off the first episode of the new series discussing the power of exercise. We all know exercise is good for our health. It can make a huge difference to our overall wellbeing and recovery, but could it go even further? Could it help us survive cancer?

In this episode we’re first joined by Kara Miller, a former professional netball player who was diagnosed with bowel cancer back in 2022. She reflects on her athletic career and how it helped her not only through cancer treatment but also inspired her to become a cancer rehabilitation personal trainer.

We also hear from Professor Vicky Coyle, a researcher at Queen’s University Belfast who led the UK arm of the CHALLENGE trial, investigating whether exercise could help people survive bowel cancer. She shares the incredible results of her research and what this could mean for the future of cancer treatment and care.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to subscribe and watch it all on our YouTube channel!

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Discussed on today's episode:

Exercise can help more people survive colon cancer

What are the benefits of exercise?

CHALLENGE trial paper

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For more cancer stories, visit Cancer News

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to another episode of That Cancer Conversation!

For our series finale, Sophie is joined by royal correspondent and best-selling author, Katie Nicholl.

Katie has spent over 20 years writing about the British royal family, from A-levels to coronations, Katie has reported it all. But when King Charles III and Princess Catherine both announced their cancer diagnoses, their stories hit very close to home, as only a few months earlier Katie finished her own treatment for liver cancer.

On this episode, Katie talks to Sophie about her own personal cancer story, being diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), and reflects on the impact the King and Princess of Wales have made from their own cancer experiences.

You can watch the full episode on our YouTube channel!

We’ll be back soon with series 4! Thank you for tuning in and subscribe to be the first to listen to new episodes.

Links:

Read more about cholangiocarcinoma

AMMF The Cholangiocarcinoma Charity

Follow Katie on Instagram

Discover more of Katie’s work:

Vanity Fair

DYNASTY podcast: The Royal Family’s Most Challenging Year

For more cancer stories, visit Cancer News.

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Welcome to another episode of That Cancer Conversation!

Here in the UK, radiotherapy plays a part in treating more than 140,000 people with cancer every year. From infants to adults, radiotherapy is a precise and personalised tool used to target many different types of cancer.

But how does it all work?

In this episode Sophie speaks to Hayley Brown, a science engagement manager at Cancer Research UK to explain alongside breaking down the history and evolution of radiotherapy. Sophie also speaks to Nevo, a image consultant and stylist who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and underwent radiotherapy as part of her cancer treatment. She explains what is was like and why she believes it's important to keep having a conversation about cancer.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to subscribe and watch it all on our YouTube channel!

Extra links:

Article --> Rays of hope: how Cancer Research UK helped shape radiotherapy

More info --> What is radiotherapy?

Follow us on Instagram to stay updated and for more cancer stories visit Cancer News.

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Welcome to another episode of That Cancer Conversation!

We're entering the summer season and hopefully expecting some sunny weather. But with warm weather approaching we're likely to spend more time outdoors, so it’s time to start thinking about protecting ourselves from those UV rays!

Skin cancer is the 5th most common cancer in the UK, with almost 9 in 10 cases caused by exposure to too much ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and sunbeds. It's important we take care of our skin and Sophie Brooks, who works in the health information team at Cancer Research UK, joins the podcast to provide some simple and effective tips alongside discussing some common skin cancer and sun safety myths.

But we're recently seeing an alarming increase in skin cancer cases and sunbed usage. In 2024, a survey by the charity Melanoma Focus found that 28% of UK adults use sunbeds, and seeing a rise to 43% among 18 to 25 year-olds. Jak, a content creator, also joins the podcast, sharing his personal cancer story being diagnosed with skin cancer at 21 years old and how his use of sunbeds may have played a big role.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to subscribe and watch it all on our YouTube channel!

Jak's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jakk_how

Article --> Skin cancer 101: What everyone should know

Cancer News article --> Clothing choices could be linked to melanoma skin cancer

Follow us on Instagram to stay updated and for more cancer stories visit Cancer News.

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In this episode of That Cancer Conversation, Sophie delves into the topic of diet and cancer.

She begins the conversation with her first guest, Professor Marc Gunter, a cancer epidemiologist who specialises in diet and obesity. He talks all about how food can impact someone's risk of getting cancer and unpacks some highly talked about foods, such as ultra processed foods, coffee beans and even the trending 'green powders'.

Later in the episode, Cancer Research UK's health information manager, Rachel Orritt, speaks about misinformation and the sensationalised headlines that often make it to our media and into our feeds. She also breaks down some common cancer and diet myths that comes across her desk and what a healthy balanced diet actually means.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to subscribe and watch it all on our YouTube channel!

Extra links:

Discover more about Cancer Grand Challenges

Article --> Are ultra-processed foods linked to cancer?

Follow us on Instagram to stay updated and for more cancer stories visit Cancer News.

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Welcome to another episode of That Cancer Conversation!

We think of cancer as a primarily elderly disease but there’s a rising trend of cancer cases in younger adults (age 25 to 50), also known as early onset cancer. And in this episode we’re discussing what early onset cancer is and why it’s rising.

To start the conversation, Sophie speaks to Dr Nisha Duggan, a former researcher and now science engagement manager at Cancer Research UK, to unpack what cancer is and why early onset cancer might be different.

Sophie also speaks to Professor Andrew Chan, a co-lead for one of the Cancer Grand Challenges teams, Team PROSPECT. Cancer Grand Challenges is a global research initiative that identifies the toughest challenges in cancer research, and Andrew and his team aim to answer some of the biggest questions around early onset cancer. He explains not only how they’re trying to understand the rise in cases, but also how they can reverse the trend.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to subscribe and watch it all on our YouTube channel!

Extra links:

Discover more about Cancer Grand Challenges

Article --> E. coli toxin could be linked to rising rates of bowel cancer in younger adults

Follow us on Instagram to stay updated and for more cancer stories visit Cancer News.

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Welcome to another episode of That Cancer Conversation!

In this special episode, we’re celebrating the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK. The fund was set up by Dame Deborah James, also known as ‘Bowelbabe’, and her family in the last few weeks of her life.

For this special episode of the podcast, Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, interviews four of Deborah’s family and friends.

We have Ben James, Deborah’s brother and Sarah Wieczorek, Deborah’s sister. Emma Campbell (@limitless_em), author, speaker and podcast host who received treatment alongside Deborah and was a firm friend. And Steve Bland (@mr_blandy) an award-winning podcast producer and presenter. He joined the host line-up of the hugely popular You, Me and the Big C podcast alongside Deborah after his first wife Rachael passed away from breast cancer in 2018.

Michelle sits down with Ben, Sarah, Emma and Steve to talk about their memories of Deborah and discuss the Bowelbabe Fund as they prepare to take on this year’s London Marathon as ‘Team Bowelbabe’.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to subscribe and watch it all on our YouTube channel!

LINKS:

You can donate to support Team Bowelbabe ---> here!

Read this article answering Bowel cancer’s most common questions.

Learn more about team PROSPECT.

Follow us on Instagram to stay updated and for more cancer stories visit Cancer News.

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