Heads Up

Heads Up was set up in 2004 to

fund research into the causes of

head and neck cancers, including

those of the nose, mouth, throat

and voice box. We are a fund

within Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals

Charitable Funds, and are based at

the Blenheim Head and Neck

Cancer Unit at Oxford’s Cancer

Centre.

Managed by ENT consultants, with

the support of speech

therapists and former patients,

Heads Up seeks to develop new

treatments that will cure more

people with fewer

life-changing side effects.

karen.gurney@heads-up.org.uk

www.facebook.com/headsupoxford

Happy New Year!

Firstly, congratulations to our

patron, Hugh Morris, on his new

appointment as Chief Executive of

Glamorgan Cricket. Well done

Hugh!

→ With spring just around the

corner, now is a great time to start

thinking about new challenges. Our

Fundraisers’ Guide, available FREE

from karen.gurney@heads-

up.org.uk provides lots of great

ideas for ways that you could sup-

port our fund. Do get in touch and

request a copy.

We wish you all a healthy and

happy 2014.

THE Abseil – Sunday 18th May

Yes, it’s that time of year again when we ask

you to step off a very tall building, roped up

of course, in a bid to raise money for head

and neck cancer research.

Our annual abseil, always brilliantly organ-

ised by the central Oxford Radcliffe Hospi-

tals Charitable Funds team, will this year take

place on Sunday 18th May. To take part, all

you need to do is pay a £10 admin fee, try and

raise £100 for Heads Up, and hold your nerve

as you abseil 100 feet down the side of the

Funding research to fight head and neck cancer

Heads Up Bulletin

Febru

ary 2014

Heads Up is a fund within Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Charitable Funds:

registered charity no 1057295, fund 2119

Heads Up Patron: Hugh Morris, Glamorgan Cricket Chief Executive & Director of Cricket

HNC research study progress report, Dr Oliver Dale

Women’s Centre on the John Radcliffe Hospital

site in Oxford.

→ Would you give it a go? If so, please pick

up an abseil entry form from Blenheim Outpa-

tients, or email karen.gurney@heads-

up.org.uk for more info. We’ve only got 20

places to fill, so do get your application in soon.

Please also help us by telling your friends and

family all about the event so that they can share

this brilliant opportunity.

Dr Dale’s Heads-Up-funded research

has so far focused on insulin-like

growth factor (IGF) in head and neck

cancer (HNC). He has demonstrated

that blocking the action of IGF in

HNC cells in the laboratory causes

reduced survival of the cancer cells

and increases the effectiveness of

radiotherapy.

The implications for patients Dr Dale has been analysing 200

samples of HNC from different

patients, to determine the activity of

IGF within these samples. This has

shown that HNCs contain much

higher levels of IGF receptor than

normal tissue. The level of IGF

receptor appears to vary between

different HNCs, and patients with

high levels of IGF receptor in their

tumours have a significantly worse

prognosis than those with low levels of

IGF receptor. This is an important finding

for two reasons: it may help offer some

prognostic information to patients, and it

provides a rationale for targeting the IGF

receptor in HNC patients.

Blocking the IGF receptor Alongside this, Dr Dale has been building

upon his previous work using IGF

receptor blocking drugs. From this work,

he has identified a protein that may

predict which cancers respond to drugs

that block the IGF receptor. This is an

important development, which addresses

a stumbling block that has previously

prevented the use of IGF inhibitors in the

clinical setting. Ultimately, we hope this

new data will support the establishment

of a clinical trial involving IGF inhibitors

in patients with HNC.

Information and support for HNC patients, their carers, relatives and friends, is available at www.heads2gether.net or call 0800 0234550.

Sharing knowledge on an international stage

Blenheim Unit Consultant

Oral & Maxillofacial/Head

& Neck Surgeon, Mr

Satheesh Prabhu, is the

brains behind the

ProjecTrain project, a

web-based lecture

programme that shares

knowledge about head

and neck cancer symp-

toms and treatment on an

international stage in

order to help clinicians

better care for patients.

Here he answers some

questions about the project.

Who are the lectures for?

Colleagues from across

the globe have given lec-

tures (more than 70 in

the last 5 years), sharing

their immense experience

and knowledge.

The lectures in the

archive are provided by

the International Associa-

tion of Oral & Maxillofa-

cial Surgeons (IAOMS)

and British Association of

Oral & Maxillofacial

Surgeons (BAOMS). They

are sponsored by IAOMS

and Synthes, so are free

How can we do things better?

It’s a question we ask ourselves

all the time. Tim Inshaw, a

recently retired Major General

from the Army, whose son was

treated at the Blenheim Unit,

has very kindly volunteered his

skills to Heads Up, and is

working with us to conduct a

review of our operations.

→ Do you have any thoughts

or opinions about Heads Up’s

work? If so, we’d love to hear

from you. Please email karen.

gurney@heads-up.org.uk to

find out more.

Febru

ary 2014

at the point of delivery.

However, their technical

nature means that they

may not be suitable for

patients and relatives.

How are the lectures

promoted?

There is a Facebook page

'projectrain' which people

follow (currently 225

members) and there are

about 600 people on the

mailing list. It currently

goes out to 40 countries.

How many people are

reached?

The capacity of each lec-

ture is 100. Anywhere

between 40 to 80 people

attend the live lecture and

the recordings are viewed

by many more.

How can Heads Up sup-

porters get involved?

I’m interested in

organising one lecture for

patients which has

relevant information on a

suitable topic. This could

be recorded, with links

provided to patients.

‘Like’ us at: www.facebook.com/headsupoxford

Help us fund new research; request a copy of the FREE Heads Up Fundraisers’ Guide from karen.gurney@heads-up.org.uk

Another possibility would

be to invite a patient to

speak about their

experience of having

cancer. This would be

immensely helpful to all

of us to better under-

stand patient needs,

although obviously I am

very mindful of the

sensitivities involved.

About Mr Prabhu Mr Satheesh Prabhu did his

specialist training in maxillo-

facial surgery at the North

West Deanery, followed by

advanced training in head

and neck cancer at Central

Manchester University Hos-

pital and Christie Hospital in

Manchester. Mr Prabhu

joined the Blenheim Unit in

2013. His interests are

research, oral cancer and

oro-facial reconstruction

after removal of cancer.

Blenheim’s Christmas extravaganza!

What a night! On Friday

20th December, Blenheim

Unit staff entertained

inpatients and outpatients

with a rousing rendition of

Christmas songs and

carols. There was a fancy

dress competition with

the theme ‘famous pop

stars’, a raffle, and a cake

sale. It was definitely a

night to be remembered.

For additional pictures,

see ww.facebook.com/

headsupoxford.

Enormous thanks to Leigh

-anne El-Bardadhi, Blen-

heim Unit Housekeeper,

for organising the event.

The team raised £300, as

well as some big smiles on

the faces of patients, their

family and friends.

From top left, clockwise: Blenheim Housekeeper, Leigh-anne El-

Bardadhi (Freddy Mercury); Consultants, Mr Potter, Mr Winter and Mr Gore (Adam Ant); Speech and Language Therapist, Caroline Fraser

(Suzi Quatro); and Outpatient Staff Nurse, Helen Disley (Madonna).

Cheque received from the Prime Minister!

We were absolutely delighted

when Prime Minister David

Cameron presented Heads Up

fundraiser Karen Gurney with a

cheque to support our work

funding research into head and

neck cancer. The presentation

took place in January at Waitrose

in Witney, following the store’s

inclusion of Heads Up in its green token Community Matters

fundraising scheme.

As well as receiving the cheque for

£302, the event provided a great

chance to raise awareness of head

and neck cancer. Enormous thanks

to Waitrose Witney, to everyone

who popped a green coin into our

slot, and to Kay Lane for

nominating us.

→ We can still be

nominated for other

branches, so please

put our name forward

if there’s a Waitrose

near you.

Can you help?

→ Would you be interested

in watching a ProjecTrain

lecture for patients? Or would

you be willing to share your

own story? If so, please email

karen.gurney@heads-

up.org.uk.