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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.
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.
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 [email protected]
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.