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

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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Welcome to another episode of That Cancer Conversation!

In our last episode, ‘What are cancer vaccines?’, Sophie spoke to Dr Heather Shaw to learn about cancer vaccines and how they work. In this second episode, we continue to dive deeper into the world of cancer vaccines to find out when we might see cancer vaccines as treatments for cancer.

To start the conversation, Sophie speaks to Dr Lennard Lee, Associate Professor at University of Oxford and Chief Medical Officer of the EIT Institute, as well as co-founder of the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad. She also speaks to Cancer Research UK’s chief director of research and innovation, Dr Iain Foulkes, about how Cancer Research UK is playing a role in this ‘golden era’ of cancer treatments.

If you enjoyed the episode, don't forget to subscribe and watch the new season all on our YouTube channel!

Extra links:

The Cancer Vaccine Bulletin

Discover more about cancer vaccines --> Cancer vaccines - where are we?

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

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We're back with the third season of That Cancer Conversation, the podcast from Cancer Research UK.

Have you heard of cancer vaccines? Maybe you've seen a headline or two, but what is a cancer vaccine?

In this episode, Sophie talks to Dr Heather Shaw, a skin cancer clinician and researcher at University College London, who is leading the first skin cancer (melanoma) vaccine trial in the UK. From what makes a cancer vaccine to discussing when we can see one in our clinics - we take a deep dive into the world of cancer vaccines.

Discover more about cancer vaccines --> Cancer vaccines - where are we?

If you enjoyed the episode, don't forget to subscribe and watch the new season all on our YouTube channel!

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

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Our DNA is made up of 3000 million letters of code. They make up genes within our DNA and are responsible for how cells in our body grow and multiply. But what happens when something in that code goes wrong?

Welcome to another episode of That Cancer Conversation, a podcast from Cancer Research UK that brings together the science and the stories behind cancer.

In this episode, Sophie will be looking at the human genome and explore how changes in our DNA can increase our risk of getting cancer. Prof Mike Stratton, former director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute and a pioneer in cancer genetics, helps unpack this question and tells us how he and his team persevered to find the second BRCA gene (BRCA2) and its mutation.

It’s been 30 years since the discovery of the first BRCA gene, BRCA1. Sophie sits down with Maria, her sister, Chrissy, and their mother, all who were tested positive for the BRCA2 gene mutation. They discuss their cancer stories and how the life-changing discovery of the BRCA genes has affected them as a family.

Read more cancer stories on Cancer News

You can donate to Cancer Research UK here

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