On Wednesday evening we were thrilled to be able to launch to main output from the Gynae Narratives project, We Need To Talk…About Radiotherapy for Gynaecological Cancer. Representatives from North West Cancer Research, local radiotherapy units and various cancer support charities as well as members of the public joined the event at Lancaster University to celebrate the completion of the project.
Attendees at the launch of the Gynae Narratives book held in Health Innovation One at Lancaster University
In the book, patient experiences of radiotherapy treatment for gynaecological cancer are brought together in the hope that the care for people with a gynae cancer will be as good as it possibly can be for every patient. It is an activist project to demand and promote change.
Conversations is the theme that frames the book and its key message. Each section is entitled Conversations about… because the experiences revealed that conversations can be difficult to initiate or are easily closed down, even though many issues could be resolved through careful conversations.
At the end of each (short) section, each led by a different member of the research team, there are ideas for Continuing Conversations about… for both patients and practitioners. For patients there is advice, alongside examples of how and what to ask prior to, during and after treatment, and encouragement to ask again if they do not get answers. For practitioners there are questions to encourage reflection, conversation, communication with patients and also to challenge current services. The aim is that questions can be used directly or as prompts, or as part of a support or reading group.
You can order a copy of the book, free of charge, from the Lancaster University Store: https://tinyurl.com/GynaeNarratives
Members of the Research Team with Alastair Richards from North West Cancer Research (far left). Researchers pictured (from left to right) Daniel Hutton, Lisa Ashmore, Mette Kragh-Furbo, Lorraine Salisbury, Corinne Singleton and Hilary Stewart.