Transcript Disclaimer – Please note that the following transcription has been machine generated by an AI software and therefore may include errors and ommissions.

Robin Daly
Hello and welcome to the Yes toLife show on UK Health Radio. My name’s Robin Daly and I’m the founder and chairman of Yes to Life, the UK’s integrative cancer care charity. I’m also your regular host for the show. This week’s show is going to be a little different to usual. I want to tell you about a new initiative of the charity Yes to Life that we’ve launched as part of our 20th anniversary year. It’s our Charter for Oncology and this, in my estimation, is one of the most important initiatives we’ve ever taken. When I set up Yes to Life 20 years ago, I had two major areas of concern regarding oncology. One of those was in the area of patient choice and autonomy and the other was in the area of the culture of oncology, where I felt there were extremely serious issues.

Robin Daly
At the time, these seemed to such absolutely massive things to tackle that I felt I had to choose between them. I couldn’t possibly address both. So I chose the former and set off to address issues of patient choice, informing them of their options beyond conventional care, providing them with support and education regarding those choices and encouraging them to take charge of their own care choices. Well, I wasn’t wrong about the challenges involved. They have been and are absolutely massive. But I was wrong in believing it was a choice. Two decades in, I’ve come to realise that the culture of oncology is the very source of the rigidity that excludes patient choice, that’s incapable of patient -centred care, indeed, that’s designed to minimise opportunities for genuine love and care in favour of mechanistic systems to rigidly control the behaviour of both patients and staff alike.

Robin Daly
What we have is system -based healthcare to which patient -centric care is actually a threat. The human need for more caring and respectful health services has led firstly to the development of CAM, complementary and alternative medicine, as it was called in the early days of Yes to Life, and more recently, as the inherent weaknesses of the either -or model that was and still is touted by those with black and white thinking became increasingly apparent, we’ve seen the emergence of integrative medicine, or integrative oncology, as it’s called when it comes to cancer care. And so, the artificial divides between the conventional and what was called alternative have gradually been eroded so that we now find ourselves having the science to understand why an exercise programme or a dietary intervention could sometimes have an even greater effect on our wellbeing than the very best that conventional medicine has to offer,

Robin Daly
or how our biochemistry is affected by walking in nature with friends. And so, the concept of integration was born, bringing the best of both worlds together for the benefit of patients. And this powerful model is an umbrella term for the choice that I set out to work for 20 years ago. In that time, attitudes have begun to change within oncology, but at a glacial speed. It seems that Max Planck was pretty much spot on when he declared that a new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that’s familiar with it.

Robin Daly
We’re now in the extraordinary position where a huge raft of the public who depend on our healthcare services have an expectation of those services that simply can’t be delivered. In my younger days, it seemed to be acceptable that a bank manager give you a good ticking off for going over your overdraft limit, but for a mature adult in the 21st century to find themselves spoken to like a naughty school child because they want to make every effort to save their own life and are not content to simply submit to what the system tells them they’re going to get, is nothing less than an outrage. The NHS has had patient choice and patient -centered care written into its charter for longer than yes life has existed. Indeed, the concept of patient -centered care was dreamt up something like seventy -five years ago, but in present -day oncology in the UK, there is precious little evidence that this has had the slightest impact.

Robin Daly
Now, in case any of you think I’m on some sort of witch hunt to bash oncologists and oncology staff, I’m not. It’s my view that the staff suffer every bit as much in the cover -my -back system that we have as the patients do. All human beings thrive in the same conditions. Conditions in which they feel cared for, listened to, respected, valued. Conditions they feel they can really trust. People with cancer are looking for somewhere that allows them to find some space to breathe amidst the enormous stresses of cancer. A safe haven with the best expertise is combined with the greatest understanding of the immense difficulties they face. A place where they feel everyone is on their team wanting the very best outcome for their. The simple way to describe what these all add up to is to use the word love. As it stands, love is factored out of healthcare. And that doesn’t mean it’s not in evidence at all, but it does mean that it’s under the radar of the system.

Robin Daly
It’s unapproved, but nonetheless being delivered by many outstanding and courageous individuals. As long as this situation prevails where love is seen as a weakness in the system, the integration as we want to see it will never be possible. Hence the strap line of our charter, love as the guiding principle of cancer care. It needs to be front and centre. A system that’s based on control and the fear of the loss of authority, which is what we have now, can never encompass love. Because, and the powers that be are completely correct in this, love is actually a threat to the system. In my view of course that’s a good thing, as the basis of the system we have is inhuman, whereas love is what healthy, happy human beings thrive on. The way it’s been presented is that this soft way of looking at healthcare opens the door to all sorts of woo woo pseudo -science, and somehow we’ll all end up in healthcare hell if we even start down this route.

Robin Daly
But while love is a threat to a fear -based system, and it can never afford to welcome such a subversive element, great science and brilliant systems are a way to deliver love to people in need, and can be fully embraced by healthcare that puts love for patients and staff front and centre. And this is what true integrative medicine is, the very best for everyone, regardless of what label is on it, pharmaceutical, ayurvedic, complementary. If healthcare is to be truly patient -centred, then we have to work from their point of view, and the question uppermost in the mind of anyone with cancer, when considering any intervention, whatever its pedigree is, is, will this help me? Will this help me feel better, live longer, achieve my life goals, be happy? A healthcare system that sings from this hymn sheet is unlikely to go far wrong. By giving these same questions the importance they deserve, healthcare staff will be standing alongside their patients, and those patients will know it and will experience it.

Robin Daly
So what I’m saying is that while I want to see integrative medicine in place as the baseline for what everyone with cancer has offered, I now realise that for this to be possible, the culture of oncology has to radically change. Enter our charter for oncology. We develop this in order for anyone who can relate to what I’ve been saying about the culture of oncology to be able to jointly express a desire for this change, and for the immense shortcomings of the current system to come out from behind closed doors and get a public airing. The public in general have no idea how stranded in the past cancer care is, and they don’t get to find out until they, or one of their family or friends, is unfortunate enough to get a diagnosis, and they find themselves on an uncaring conveyor belt of protocols and procedures, maybe being shouted at or derided for wanting to make decisions about their own health care.

Robin Daly
Decisions that only they will bear the consequences of, finding themselves with no room for the human experience of the immense crisis they’re facing, and that in reality we’re facing as a race. Cancer is decimating us. We want this to become a talking point, particularly in the media, and we want the urgency of finding better ways to care for those with cancer to break through the defensive ring of fear around cancer, and to bring love to this situation in every way we can, from the smallest interaction, a smile, a squeeze of a hand, to the direction taken by cancer services at the top level. So the Charter advocates for six principles or qualities which are hope, empathy, aspiration, respect, trust, and open -mindedness. Within the Charter, each of these has a short summary and an extended exploration.

Robin Daly
In addition, each principle is accompanied by real -world examples of the type of interaction that, while not universal of course, are far, far too common to be discounted or ignored. These have been included to help those who’ve never experienced oncology services to gain an appreciation of just how out of line things are in there. But also, for those staff who are beavering away, doing their best within the system and thinking that, while there is maybe room for a little improvement here and there, things are basically okay. Hopefully, these reported interactions will bring in a degree of objectivity. If we want patient -centered care, then these voices must be heard, however uncomfortable that may be. But, if you’re an oncology healthcare provider, please listen to this, bearing in mind that none of this is to denigrate or in any way undermine your efforts.

Robin Daly
We appreciate fully that most oncology staff are wonderful, dedicated, caring people, drawn to this work by altruistic motives to help those in dire need. It’s just they’re caught in a system that aims to exclude empathy, that even actively rewards lack of empathy, and that’s good for no one. So it’s this mechanistic, uncaring system that we’re targeting, the harshness of which is amplified by the fact that patients enter it at their most vulnerable, desperately looking for help and care, only to find themselves on a conveyor belt. It’s shocking. Because these principles are to promote a healthcare environment that’s optimal for people to thrive in, that includes you. A move in this direction will be an improvement in your working environment. This is not simply a list of extra jobs for you on top of the burden you already carry, another branch of the system. This is an altogether different direction that will lighten your load immensely, if fully embraced.

Robin Daly
Like most other public systems, healthcare has, for far too long, relied on its own assessments of how well it’s serving patients, or else on the assessments of governments, both using system metrics that may have little to do with what actually matters to most patients. Long after the efficiency with which the drugs trolley was administered has been forgotten, patients will remember the little moments where love has shown, in a word or a smile. The time has come for patients to say, loud and clear, what they’re looking for, and to tell the NHS, a service which after all is there to deliver the healthcare we pay for to our taxes, how well it is, or isn’t, meeting our needs. I’ve invited six people with their own experience of cancer treatment to read one of the charter points each and comment on it from their own point of view. The charter points are hope, empathy, aspiration, respect, trust and open -mindedness.

Sarah
Hi I’m Sarah and I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018. A diagnosis before I knew stage or grade or type, within my despair I reached out to my NHS team by asking what I could do to support myself. Not only was I was told that there was nothing I could do, I was also told not to change my diet without being asked what my diet comprised of and not to do any research online, especially what they were doing in other countries. Whereas I can understand where this comes from, they’re not trained in anything other than conventional treatments, it rips away hope, any sense of autonomy and self -empowerment. It’s also taken away when mainstream treatments may stop working or patients are sent away to watch and wait for the cancer to return.

Thankfully due to 25 years in corporate research I knew where to look and came across Yes to Life. Within two days of my own diagnosis I was flooded with hope again which softened my grief and fear. This hope felt like a fire of excitement being lit within me and I followed it and it changed my life with fresh opportunity and possibilities for my health. Hope is not false positivity, it’s the state of mind, a state of mind that creates a deep optimism that there are many options and possibilities to support our own cancer experiences and outcomes. Hope is a way of life and a healing state. Hi my name’s Sarah and in 2020 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and since then I’ve had two local recurrences and ended up having five surgeries including the lumpectomy and mastectomy and then radiotherapy.

Empathy, helping patients to feel as safe as possible. People diagnosed with cancer are in most cases in the most difficult and vulnerable position they have ever found themselves and they need and deserve enormous care in the way all communications are handled and particularly in the way their findings are delivered. Oncology staff must strive to understand the emotional experience of their patients and to send them away feeling as supported, optimistic and cared for as possible after every appointment. I think being empathised with as a patient is one of the most crucial things that needs to happen during the patient experience and for me most of my nursing staff are absolutely fantastic but it was the breast surgeons who are mostly men who I think really need to find some more empathy in their delivery and I think from the very start I think one of the easiest ways to do that is to simply to look at the woman in front of you and to say something like I know you’re frightened,

I know you’re really really scared and I will do absolutely everything in my power to make sure that you’re okay and that will go a really long way to helping people feel more supported and more cared for. A lot of the time it seems to me patients are treated in a way that really emphasizes fear and control and I’ve had conversations with oncologists that have said well if you don’t do this or you know if we don’t do this soon your cancer will come back and then we don’t know what’s going to happen and that’s a terrifying thing to hear so I would really recommend that all oncologists and all breast surgeons take the time to really study and understand what empathy is all about.

Philip Booth
I’m Philip. I was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer in 2017. I had radiotherapy and hormone treatments, but also researched what else I could be doing in terms of lifestyle and complementary approaches. I was delighted to find that there was lots of good research on what I could be doing to reduce the likelihood of cancer returning. However, while my oncology team were hugely supportive of conventional treatment, they weren’t supportive of me considering anything else. We so need changes to oncology that support us to get the best results. This yes -to -life charter is one of those ways that as a patient we can have our voice heard more widely. It’s so needed, the charter just makes sense. Out of the six qualities listed, the one that stood out for me was aspiration. Aspiration, supporting patients in becoming exceptional. The charter writes, every patient deserves to aim for the best possible result and should be strongly encouraged to do so.

Philip Booth
After all, there are no guarantees in cancer care and their life is on the line. The public are increasingly aware of the growing evidence that exists for the crucial role of lifestyle interventions in easing symptoms, enhancing quality of life and contributing to a more successful outcome and specialists can capitalise on their unique position to encourage them to strive for the advantages that these approaches can offer. All patients should be supported in wanting to be exceptional patients. I say here, here, I mean, when asked about what else I could be doing, my oncologist said, look, you’re pretty fit, just keep doing what you’re doing. And it actually took me a while, but I can see now just how unhelpful that advice was. When we look at outcomes in cancer, some patients do really well and research is showing that this isn’t just an accident.

Philip Booth
Those of us doing better are involved in sustained and focused lifestyle and complementary interventions. Take exercise, for example, I mean, a 2014 study of men with localised prostate cancer found that those who walked or cycled for at least 20 minutes at each day had a 39% lower risk of dying from prostate cancer, 39%. If that was a tablet, the NHS would be throwing it at us. There’s so much more we can be doing with, say, improving nutrition, tackling stress, getting better sleep and so much more. And many of these interventions have been scientifically shown to be helpful. Plus, they can be inexpensive or even free. And at the moment, many of us pray to Dr. Google and while there is some great info on the internet, there is also some very poor information and in some cases possibly dangerous advice. And it can be hard for the layperson to untangle what is really useful. I’d love to see oncology departments supporting and motivating us to make good choices and giving us real hope.

Simon Allen
Hello, I’m Simon Allen. I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in 2015. The likelihood of surgery being affected was low, so I opted for hormone therapy and radiotherapy. With the health of my oncologist and complementary medicine, I was in remission by 2018 and continue to be in remission. I’m talking to CharterPoint entitled Respect, which is subtitled Understanding What Matters Most to Each Patient, and summarised thus. A cancer specialist role is to offer their expertise for their patient’s benefit, while at all times respecting their autonomy and individuality. They must never lose sight of the fact that it is the patient who will bear the long -term consequences of treatment choices. The specialist role is to listen and understand what matters most to their patient, and any approach that is safe and that could help in some way, physically, emotionally, psychologically or spiritually, must be respected and supported.

Simon Allen
Faced with an existential threat, patients need all the encouragement they can get, particularly when it comes to efforts to help themselves. So that’s the summary of the CharterPoint. How do we relate to it? Well, having respect for myself and showing respect to others are core values of mine. My oncologist had clarity on how to treat me, but was also able to hear my concerns about side effects and respond to them. I think because my questions required him to go into depth about the treatment process, he then disclosed he had his own concerns as to whether or not his treatment would be successful. On complementary support, he had concerns about a supplement I was taking and backed that up by sending me the research, which was helpful. I’m sure the open and respectful discussions we had about my treatment enabled me to fully commit to his plan, and I’m sure this helped lead to a good outcome, not only for me, but also for his personal and professional satisfaction and track record.

Fiona Sivyer
The Yes to Life Charter for Oncology. Trust, becoming a trusted ally. Faced with immense challenges, patients need to feel that oncology staff are on their team, looking out for them and for the best possible outcome at all times. This requires clinicians to be interested in and respectful of patients’ efforts to save their own lives. A climate of open sharing and trust must be fostered and encouraged in order to support the best outcome and avoid patients withholding information or taking risks.

My name is Fiona. I was diagnosed with colorectal bowel cancer in October 2018 and secondary lung metastasis in December 2021. I’ve created a team of expertise to support me and taken a very integrative approach using the best of conventional medicine and alternative and lifestyle support.

Fiona Sivyer
My NHS oncologist is very sadly the weakest link in my support. I have felt unable to share what I’m doing to support my quality of life and outcomes with my NHS oncologist because I’ve found that there is no interest shown in hearing about my choices or the evidence -based reasons for them. My scans currently show no signs of active disease. I believe the Yes to Life Charter for Oncology provides an aspirational vision for NHS cancer services. In my own experience, we’re currently far removed from this vision. Initiatives such as this charter can only serve to improve the situation. Trust resonated for me within the charter because in truth, I sadly lack trust in my NHS oncologist. I believe that the treatments offered to me are more influenced by resources and funding or lack thereof and not the wants and needs of the patient or what is optimal for me personally alongside the other things I’m doing to support my health.

Fiona Sivyer
It is clear that there is a risk attached to withholding information and it can be very isolating taking your own path. I sincerely hope things can change. Yes to Life Oncology Charter open -mindedness. Hello, I’m Heather George, a 66 -year -old practicing yoga therapist. I was first diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2017 and I’ve had two lumpectomies and a thoracotomy true part of my lung. Greatfully, the lung was clear. A second primary in 2021 led to a mastectomy and then August 2022 severe pain in my neck was found to be a compression fracture caused by metastasis on the vertebra. Together with other bone lesions and uncertainty about my liver, I was diagnosed with stage IV metastasized hormone positive breast cancer.

Fiona Sivyer
I wish to discuss the open -mindedness section of the Yes to Life Charter for Oncology. It starts with the premise that wellbeing takes much more than good medical treatment. To expand on that concept, cancer is not well understood and therefore the ways of supporting recovery are also unclear. Oncology has much to offer but so do many other specialties as well as the patients and the carers themselves. Who often become experts in their own conditions. With a willingness to embrace the uncertainties of their own professional positions and also recognize the contributions others can make, clinicians can work alongside their patients supporting them in facing an uncertain future. It has to be a team effort involving a wide variety of support which will benefit both patient experience and outcomes. I have been on my personal cancer journey since February 2017. Having researched, I had some understanding of how an integrated approach could support the NHS treatment.

Fiona Sivyer
I also have taken advice from an integrated oncologist. My protocol includes a healthy primarily plant -based very low carbohydrate diet especially low in sugar. Regular and varied exercise to maintain a healthy weight and lift my mood. Reducing my exposure to toxins such as cleaning and personal care products to support my immune system. The use of visualization and meditation to support my emotional wellbeing. regular use of hypobaric oxygen, far infrared sauna and light therapy to induce cancer cell and coctosis. And finally supplements and repurposed drugs to support my immune system and help block cancer pathways. All of this is to service the terrain of my body, mind and spirit. Most importantly, my NHS Oncology team have shown open -mindedness, having full knowledge of my choices.

Fiona Sivyer
They checked the repurposed drugs and supplements for any contraindications with the NHS -prescribed cancer -targeted drugs. They also checked and confirmed my other protocols would not interfere with their treatment or cause harm. Obviously, I could not expect them to actively support anything outside of their own treatment plan. They have been open to considering adjustment to dosing and the implication of any side effects. All in all, almost two years on from the stage four diagnosis, I’m doing well. On my latest CT scan, the bone metastases are not showing as being active and the liver lesion is benign. There is no spread or growth. The Oncology said, whatever you and we are doing is working, even if we can’t tell what it is. So let’s keep going. Happy days.

Robin Daly
So I hope those brief summaries give you some idea to the direction of travel that we want to see oncology, Gabby. It’s been drawn from our 20 years experience of patient feedback. If you like what you’ve heard, then I do encourage you to engage fully for the charter, read the detail, and a few moments I’ll say more about what you can do to help it to become a reality. I can’t claim that our charter says how these aims are going to be achieved. That’s an enormous question, as a hierarchical power -based structure will never willingly step aside for an alternative that’s based on respect and love, and nor is it capable of encompassing them itself. Witness the past 25 years of attempting to deliver patient -centered care. Love and respect will always be seen as a threat to systems -based control. But all I can say is that person -centered care is already alive and quite well -developed outside of our NHS, and that, in contrast to the reverse situation, it is completely capable of accommodating good systems.

Robin Daly
Indeed, good systems are fundamental to good care. So, in fact, rather than being mutually exclusive polar opposites, good systems and empathic care are both essential ingredients of great oncology. Even without having all the answers as to how a change can happen, I am in absolutely no doubt about the need for it, and that the time to make a start is right now. I’m delighted to say we have four extremely impressive champions to support our charter. Professor Sir Sam Everington is a trailblazing GP who is considered a founder of the social prescribing movement, and his pioneering developments in GP services have provided a model of good practice for others. Dr. Penny Kehrioglu is a senior NHS clinical oncologist and also a trailblazer, intent on bringing integration into cancer care in the UK. Many of you will be familiar with her through the Cancer Talk podcast series that she and I co -host.

Robin Daly
Chris Lewis is a campaigner on behalf of cancer patients, having been one himself, and he’s worked tirelessly for more than 15 years for improvement in UK oncology. And Sheila Dillon is one of those well -known voices of the BBC and has been a pioneering presenter of the food programme for over 20 years. She says, I support the Yes to Life Charter for Oncology because after 13 years of cancer treatment in the NHS, I see the limitations of the conventional medical model in treating cancer. I have a remarkable open -minded oncologist in charge of my treatment, but around him, a shredded system that damages, sometimes kills people with its certainty that patients have nothing to contribute to their recovery except obedience. So we hope this team of champions will help propel the charter into the public eye and to attract the media attention that the situation needs and deserves. What can you do to help promote our charter?

Robin Daly
Well, the first thing is probably to read the full version so you’re fully aware of the issues it seeks to tackle. You can do this by going to the Yes to Life website, that’s Yes to Life .org .uk, scroll down the homepage until you see the section that’s headed to Yes to Life Charter for Oncology and then follow the links. Once you’ve had a chance to read through the full charter, if this is something you feel strongly about and that reflects your own concerns, then please do make a point of signing our petition to get the charter considered seriously. You’ll see a link to the petition alongside the link to the charter. So people who’ve been signing our petition to support the charter have also been giving us their comments as they do so and I’d just like to read out one or two of them.

Robin Daly
I am in full support of this charter and agree fully that every individual who receives a cancer diagnosis deserves both cutting -edge medical treatments and also, and really as importantly, they deserve to be at the heart of their treatment plan with a full appreciation of all levels of support they may need. This is a very important charter. I particularly like this section on the need to have hope rather than crush the human spirit. I received a cancer diagnosis in 2020 and had a recurrence in 2023 from which I’m still recovering. My experience of the NHS has been incredible, especially from compassionate and caring Welsh nurses, but there is much room for improvement. This is the way we need to be moving towards otherwise I am afraid we will risk losing the NHS altogether, which would be a terrible catastrophe.

Robin Daly
Let’s ensure the NHS flourishes through bettering the tired systems of care that are currently in place. Implementing the yes to life charter for oncology in all NHS cancer units would be an inspiring step in this direction. I’m lucky enough to be alive because of integrated methods. Holistic medicine is a no brainer. It’s win win letting everyone benefit through this charter, wider knowledge and openness can only be a good thing. Cancer affects so many people, now including me, and each of those deserves to be treated with respect and have access to equal care. Integrated medicine is certainly the way forward and should be part of patients care pathway. I’m a cancer survivor and I really wish my oncologist was able to actively engage and include my alternative therapy choices as part of my treatment protocol. Too many people I have known and loved have died of cancer without the proper care, compassion and support that they truly deserve.

Robin Daly
I believe people should be allowed choice in making decisions about their treatment, conventional or alternative, and listen to with compassion and empathy. Too many people with cancer are still being bullied into treatment regimes and having their own wishes ignored. This has to change once and for all. I would like to have had open minded approach from my oncologist with respect my complimentary support for my cancer rather than disparagement. Help cancer patients with more treatment choices, open more integrative services, look at what other countries offer, we lag way behind in the UK. The charter certainly seems to be striking a call with many people. And if you’re one of those, please make sure that you add your name. And also leave a comment as these people did. We want to know what you think and about your firsthand experiences.

Robin Daly
And before I finish, I have one more extremely important ask. And that is that you share the charter and the petition with your friends and family, or if you’re a health care worker with your colleagues. If we’re to gain the attention for this initiative that it deserves, then we must get as much support as possible, both from people with cancer and their circle of support and from within health care. I’m going to finish the show with a few words from one of the speakers, Chris Lewis.

Chris Lewis
Hi there, my name is Chris Lewis and I’m the founder of Chris’s Cancer Community and Simpal Charity. In 2007 I was diagnosed with cancer and I was given six months to live. It was then that I woke up to the realities of cancer and how things were being done in this country. Although I went through the standard system with chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. I wasn’t pleased with what I saw generally, the facilities available to people affected by cancer and the more I saw the worse it actually became. And the longer it’s gone on we’ve now seen to have gone backwards in our cancer care and actually I believe I was lucky that I was diagnosed in 2007 because now we are in 2024 after COVID and the impact that on the whole of the entire health care system in the UK.

Chris Lewis
I believe support for people affected by cancer has now actually gone backwards by at least 10 years. I was delighted to do some work and collaborate with Robin Daly from Yesterlife and I was extremely honoured when Robin asked me if I would like to be an advocate for his Yesterlife Charter for Oncology and I jumped at the opportunity because I believe that this is something that has been missing from the cancer support area for many many years. The larger charities I don’t believe have even touched anything like this so well done Robin and team I’m absolutely delighted to support your work here. The Charter is very simple actually and that’s why I agreed to support it.

Chris Lewis
It talks about empathy, hope, trust, respect, open -mindedness and aspiration. I believe these are all things that we should be talking about anyway. I have to ask myself why we need a Charter for it but unfortunately life as a cancer patient has become more difficult over the years and it’s now great to see this Charter finally written down and all the work that Robin has done with it with the NHS. For me hope is the most important thing on the list. I always had hope actually when I was diagnosed. I always had hope that I was going to survive. I believe if you don’t have hope you have nothing and respect. I was certainly given respect when I was treated way back in 2007 and I’m never far away from the NHS now as I continue to be treated right up to this very day and I know that the people working with me have total respect for what I do.

Chris Lewis
The other key thing there is aspiration. Not only did I want to survive my cancer, I wanted to thrive and I know that we nowadays talk about the survival figures have been improved for people with cancer and that’s great of course. We like to take the positives from what we are achieving but actually I believe that we should now look at whether people are thriving in their lives. Are they managing to achieve with cancer what they want to achieve? Obviously their lives will have changed but we still have a very big part to play is my opinion. and I know that I have a very different life myself now. I’m lucky enough to be able to be invited to speak around the world and get involved with making videos and other sorts of stuff where I can have impact now. So I’m actually delighted that my team of cancer health care people helped me do that and I can only achieve that with their help with the support of my wife and we work as a team and I’m absolutely delighted that I can now give something back.

Chris Lewis
My life just wouldn’t be the same without working to help other people that are going through the sort of things that I’ve been going through. So I’d like to say once again really thank you to Robin and his team for this wonderful opportunity to support this incredible charter for oncology and we want to see this spread throughout the NHS and to give people affected by cancer more of the hope and trust and respect that I myself have received and let’s push on further beyond surviving with cancer and give people a lot of hope and aspiration for those with cancer. Thank you very much Robin.