Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Dr Alice Gillams

Dr Alice Gillams is no longer working at University College Hospital, London. Dr Gillams works privately at The London Clinc and The Harley Street Clinic.

posted by Anonymous @ 11:41 PM   0 comments

Thursday, November 04, 2010

The Barcapel Foundation Awards £25,000

The Scottish based Barcapel Foundation has awarded £25,000 to fund a Fellowship for a Scottish based doctor. Subra Viswanathan, a consultant interventional radiologist from Glasgow, was the successful applicant and started training on 18th October at UCH under the guidance of Dr Alice Gillams. During this time Subra will see treatments on liver, lung and kidney and will attend follow-up assessment clinics and multi-disciplinary team meetings and become familier with indications, approaches, potential pitfalls and follow-up appearances on imaging. Having a good knowledge of the cancers that are commonly treated as well as needle placement experience is a pre-requisite to successful ablation. The training programme endeavours to equip doctors with sufficient knowledge and experience so they can set up an ablation service in their own region.

We have had a series of enquiries from patients and health care professionals asking about the availability of image guided tumour ablation in Scotland giving us the impression that tumour ablation is not widly available or known about. Over the years a small number of parients have made the journey to London to be treated at UCH but clearly this is not an ideal situation. This award will help to increase awarenmess and availability of RFA in Scotland.

Through The Cancer Thermal Ablation Fund a further Fellowship has ben awarded to Hamish Ireland, a consultant from Edinburgh who will start training in January 2011. There is the possibility of offering training to another Scottish based doctor next year if funds permit.

posted by Jean Ratcliff @ 3:28 PM   0 comments

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Support Our 2010 London Marathon Runner

Gordon Phillips from Scotland has been inspired by Bruce Milroy's and friends' recent Land's End to John O'Groats bike ride in aid of our fund to once again run the London Marathon having done so some 23 years ago. He does not really know how he managed to talk himself into doing so but he now has his number - 18913 -and will be on the start line on April 25th come what may.

Please support this brave effort knowing that the money raised will contribute to the costs for more doctors to be trained in this vital RFA treatment. You can do this quite simply by going to: www.justgiving.com/gordonmustbemad2010

Thank you for your support.

posted by Jean Ratcliff @ 7:50 PM   0 comments

Friday, August 14, 2009

10 doctors have completed RFA training

Through the funding of The Cancer Thermal Ablation Fund and the training programme that was set up, 10 doctors have now completed the course in the techniques of radiofrequency ablation at UCH under the guidance of Professor Bill Lees and Dr Alice Gillams. Each of these doctors work in different parts of the country. The next two doctors have now been appointed for training, one starting in September and one in December.

Gradually this vital procedure is becoming more available and our work continues.

posted by Jean Ratcliff @ 8:33 PM   2 comments

Bruce Milroy and Friends raise £16,000

In a gruelling nine day challenge cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats Bruce Milroy and two friends Gwyn Williams and Vincent Kennedy set out on July 8th and covered 115 miles a day, a superb effort from these first time cyclists. Milroy said," In the end it wasn't about the miles for me, but it was about my friend Paul who recently passed away and the RFA. I am exhausted but happy. I wasn't sure I could do this but it is a lesson in just how remarkable the human body is."

You can see the team’s live interview with the Dumfries and Gallow Standard by visiting www.dgstandard.co.uk/videos-pics/2009/07/20/cycling-for-cancer-funds-51311-24197964

They had hoped to raise £10,000 but they have even beaten that target. To date they have raised £16,000. If you would like to contribute to this sponsorship please visit www.justgiving.com/ethosfundraising

posted by Jean Ratcliff @ 8:14 PM   0 comments

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Bruce Milroy Takes Up Cycling Chalenge To Raise Funds

www.justgiving.com/ethosfundraising

Inspired by life-long friend and former Olympic swimmer, Paul Marshall, 47-year-old
and first time cyclist, Bruce Milroy is taking to the road, in a gruelling challenge, to raise money for the Cancer Thermal Ablation Fund, set up to raise awareness and increase the availability of radio frequency ablation, and a cause that was close to Marshall’s heart during his two-year battle with cancer.

Unfortunately for Marshall, his two-year battle with terminal cancer came to an end on 23 May 2009. This has been a hard realisation for best friend Milroy, but he believes that now he has the opportunity to not only pay tribute to a special friend, but to also make the difference to those in need of this effective treatment in interventional oncology.

Although only taking up cycling three-months ago, the challenge for Milroy and two friends, Gwyn Williams and Vincent Kennedy, is to cycle the length of the UK from Lands’ End to John O’ Groats, covering over 900-miles. Setting out on 8 July 2009, Milroy and his team will cycle 100-miles a day, in the hope of raising a target of £10,000.

Milroy says, “It’s not just about the miles for me, but it’s about Paul. When it gets to day four, five, or six and I’m exhausted and sore, all I need to think about is what he has been through. Paul was lucky enough to receive this treatment, but it was unfortunately too late. It is therefore essential that RFA becomes more widely available to those in need across the UK.”

Milroy and his two friends are ready to share the road and take the long ride for cancer. If you would like to assist the team in raising awareness and funds, please visit www.justgiving.com/ethosfundraising

posted by Jean Ratcliff @ 9:36 PM   0 comments

Monday, June 02, 2008

The James Tudor Foundation Awards £10,000

We are delighted to receive The James Tudor Foundation's recognition and support of our work to train doctors in the techniques of RFA. Following their recent Trustees Meeting, The Cancer Thermal Ablation Fund has been awarded £10,000 which will cover half the cost of a doctor's training at University College Hospital London.
Radiofrequency ablation is an important part of the overall treatment for certain cancer patients. Alongside treatment to the kidney and liver, RFA for treating lung tumours is now also increasing more and more. However, the procedure is still not widely available or offered. Our aim to train more doctors is vital to changing that.
We record our gratitude to The James Tudor Foundation.

posted by Jean Ratcliff @ 4:02 PM   0 comments

Sunday, October 28, 2007

The Ratcliff Interventional Oncology Fellowships

The Ratcliff Interventional Oncology Fellowship was first conceived in 2005/6 and following a period of active fundraising the first fellows were appointed towards the end of 2006.

Our very first fellow, Dr Simon Smith, is an established consultant at Ipswich General Hospital. Dr Smith had already acquired some funding and some equipment and the local oncology community were keen to have an ablation service. The aim of the fellowship was to provide the necessary knowledge and experience such that he could establish his own Ablation Service in Ipswich. As an established practitioner Dr Smith already had excellent needle placement skills but needed to learn about ablation. Over a period of 3 months he performed over 40 treatments. He has now returned to Ipswich and is in the process of establishing a local ablation service.

The second Ratcliff Interventional Oncology fellow, Dr Mark Anderson, is a research registrar from Oxford. Dr Andersons’ main area of interest lies in colorectal cancer. Over a period of three months he learnt the “ins and outs” of ablation in the liver, lung and kidney, again performing several supervised procedures. Dr Anderson also carried out an analysis of the changing CT appearances that occur during lung ablation and showed that CT is excellent in predicting ablation efficacy. It is planned to present this work at scientific meetings and, in due course, it will be published. Dr Anderson now returns to Oxford where it is hoped to establish a regular weekly ablation treatment session.

Our current fellow is Dr Jeremy Taylor, a final year trainee from St George's Hospital. Dr Taylor has a long established interest in interventional oncology with a particular interest in liver tumours and liver ablation. He will spend three months at UCH learning the necessary skills to perform tumour ablation.

Looking forward to 2008, the adverts for the Ratcliff Interventional Oncology Fellowships have just been distributed. We have already received expressions of interest.

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