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Simply Oncology

John McGrane & Michael Rowe

Welcome to Simply Oncology. 
Cancer is daunting for both patients and for clinical teams.
Dr John McGrane and Dr Michael Rowe are oncologists who want to break down the complex parts of cancer care into clear and simple sessions.
We will dive deep into the world of cancer research, patient stories and the latest cancer breakthroughs. 
Simply Oncology will have patient focused episodes along with episodes that allow anyone with an interest in oncology to stay up to date.

We hope you join us as we unpick all parts of cancer. 

John & Mike

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  • 114 episodes
  • Updated Friday

Episodes114

Newest first
  • Friday · 29 min

    Episode 113: In the Clinic - Managing Low Testosterone in Cancer with Dr Samantha Strumeier

    Send us Fan Mail Join us as we cover the effect of cancer and its treatment on Testosterone levels in cancer. We are joined by the amazing Samantha Strumeier, nurse consultant and nursing lead for urological cancers at St Barts Hospital London. Having experience in testosterone replacement therapy at Memorial Sloane Kettering Hospital New York she shares this with us and what she is doing now. We explore the impact of low testosterone in men on cancer treatment. One major area where this impacts the most is prostate cancer where we cause low testosterone with androgen deprivation therapy. What happens if testosterone stays low after the treatment finishes. We set the scene for how we can help patients with low testosterone. All this and Samantha tries not to be too disappointed by Mike and John!!!

  • July 24 · 26 min

    Episode 112: Prostate Cancer, Exercise and lifestyle with Dr Lucy Gossage

    Send us Fan Mail Lifestyle and patient choices in Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer has been part of a revolution in terms of treatment options and improved outcomes for our patients. How can we make that improvement in numbers on survival curves match the goals and needs of our patients? Join us in this second of 2 special live episodes of the Simply Oncology Podcast on Patient Choices and Lifestyle in Prostate Cancer. We talk to patient expert Tony Collier, Dr Lucy Gossage - an oncologist involved with Move Against Cancer and Professor Alison Birtle an oncologist with extensive experience treating prostate cancer. In this Episode we focus on Dr Lucy Gossage and her experience of supporting cancer. patients through exercise Lucy Gossage has a background in international level sport alongside being an oncologist, so it seemed natural for her to be involved in Move Against Cancer. We discuss the massive positive steps that giving patients permission to move and exercise can have for their health -both physical and mental. Recapturing some normality amongst the backdrop of cancer and its treatment can only be a good thing for patients. We hear about the huge positive impact that maintaining exercise has had on Tony’s life with cancer. We hope you enjoy! *This is a non-promotional podcast episode organised by Bayer PLC in partnership with Simply Oncology (Dr John McGrane and Dr Michael Rowe) to highlight the importance of holistic care in managing patients with prostate cancer. Bayer provided honoraria to the speakers of this podcast. The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of Bayer PLC or Simply Oncology. This content is for educational purposes only and should not replace clinical judgement.*

  • July 17 · 34 min

    Episode 111: Prostate Cancer through a patient Lens with Tony Collier BEM

    Send us Fan Mail Lifestyle and patient choices in Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer has been part of a revolution in terms of treatment options and improved outcomes for our patients. How can we make that improvement in numbers on survival curves match the goals and needs of our patients? Join us in this first of 2 special live episodes of the Simply Oncology Podcast on Patient Choices and Lifestyle in Prostate Cancer. We talk to patient expert Tony Collier, Dr Lucy Gossage - an oncologist involved with Move Against Cancer and Professor Alison Birtle an oncologist with extensive experience treating prostate cancer. In this Episode we talk to Tony Collier about his experience of being a prostate cancer patient. We hear how the focus on treatment led him to have to advocate his quality of life and life goals himself. We hear how clinicians could align with patients’ goals with just a few simple questions. We hear about the huge positive impact that maintaining exercise has had on Tony’s life with cancer. Hearing Tony’s live experience of some very personal aspects of a cancer diagnosis and treatment is hugely moving and powerful. We hope you enjoy! *This is a non-promotional podcast episode organised by Bayer PLC in partnership with Simply Oncology (Dr John McGrane and Dr Michael Rowe) to highlight the importance of holistic care in managing patients with prostate cancer. Bayer provided honoraria to the speakers of this podcast. The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of Bayer PLC or Simply Oncology. This content is for educational purposes only and should not replace clinical judgement.*

  • July 10 · 21 min

    Episode 110: Part 2 of Managing Menopause in Gynaecological Cancers with Dr Shibani Nicum

    Send us Fan Mail Join us as we finish our discussion on managing menopause in gynaecological cancers with the wonderful Shibani Nicum. Shibani works as as Associate Professor in Medical oncology treating gynaecological cancers at UCL Hospitals London. Shibani helped se up the meno.pause app in conjunction with the British Menopause Society to help guide clinical teams to support patients with menopause issues as part of their gynae cancer treatment. We look at setting up a complex menopause MDT and what lifestyle factors can help in this setting. As we see ongoing improvements in survival outcomes maintaining quality of life is so important and managing menopausal issue is a big part of that quality of life. Enjoy

  • July 2 · 23 min

    Episode 109: In the Clinic - Managing Menopause in Gynae Cancers with Dr Shibani Nicum

    Send us Fan Mail Menopause in Gynae Cancer patients is a major issue. If you struggle when to advise patients in this space. Join us as we discuss management of menopause in gynae cancer patients with excellent Dr Shibani Nicum from UCL hospitals London. Menopause across all cancer affects up to 60000 patients per year! In Gynae cancers such as ovarian cancer we can make someone menopausal immediately after surgery so that person is coping with menopause alongside surgery and chemotherapy side effects. Shibani has helped to develop the Meno.pause app to support healthcare teams with menopause treatment in cancer. It’s not just HRT - how best can we help support patients. - Oxybutynin - Neurokinin inhibitors - Lifestyle We discuss this and more Enjoy!

  • June 26 · 31 min

    Episode 108: In the Clinic - The Revolution in Platinum resistant Ovarian Cancer with Dr Rowan Miller

    Send us Fan Mail Join us for this special episode where we look at the recent major changes in the Platinum resistant ovarian cancer space . For so long this has been a treatment area with limited options and poor outcomes. Now we have ; - New Drugs - New targets - Better outcomes So much to discuss. We talk to the brilliant Dr Rowan Miller who specialises in gynaecological cancers and is based at UCL & St Barts Hospitals in London. Straight after her presentation on B7-H4 ADCs at the British Gynaecological Cancer Society meeting in Bristol we look at the new options and where they might sit in our treatment pathway? Will they all get funded? Can we manage the new side effects? Could they work in sequence or together?? A 'Must Listen' if you are involved in Ovarian Cancer. Enjoy

  • June 17 · 32 min

    Episode 107: How do we explain risk to patients with Professor Mark Beresford

    Send us Fan Mail Join us as we return with the wonderful Professor Mark Beresford from United Hospitals in Bath. We discuss how we as clinicians describe risk to our patients ans we look at some of the pitfalls of using relative risk, overcomplicated statistics with our patients. If we cannot explain risk to patients how can they ,make informed decisions. Mark moves into 'T-shirt Territory' by being our most frequent flyer on the podcast which earns him a coveted Simply Oncology Podcast T-Shirt.

  • June 8 · 19 min

    Episode 106: In the Clinic - The Part 2 of the ADePT trial in Glioblastoma brain tumours with Dr Faye Robertson

    Send us Fan Mail Join us as we return to our discussion on the fascinating ADePT trial in Glioblastoma brain tumours with the wonderful Dr Faye Robertson from the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh. We discuss how TGX-007 developed with TROGENIX with its super enhancers, dual payload and delivery system hopes to bring a break through in High grade Gliomas. We talk about how could this technology be 'rolled out' if successful. What level of success would be needed to develop the specialism for this kind of treatment. Could this therapy be adapted to be used in other cancer types such as pancreatic cancer etc ? With only 1 human trial patient clearly this is early days but we hope to follow this trial's progress on The Simply Oncology Podcast. Even if the survival outcomes of the trial were negative this trials move the dial in terms of what is possible from drug development and delivery.

  • June 4 · 24 min

    Episode 105: In the Clinic - the ADePT Trial in Glioblastoma - dual payload gene therapy - with Dr Faye Robertson

    Send us Fan Mail Sometimes we hear about a vision for a trial that is so novel and exciting that it takes you back a bit. This is one such moment. Join us as we talk to the amazing Dr Faye Robertson from the Edinburgh cancer Centre about the ingenious ADePT trial. DUAL PAYLOAD GENE THERAPY. Led by Trogenix and the University of Edinburgh, it tests a breakthrough "Trojan horse" gene therapy designed to destroy cancer cells and stimulate the immune system. TGX-007 is a drug developed with Tregonix that: How it Works: It uses dual-payload technology to deliver two distinct therapeutic agents: HSV-tk: Converts an orally administered antiviral drug (valaciclovir) into a toxic agent that directly kills proliferating tumour cells. IL-12: Acts as an immune-stimulating cytokine that turns the tumour into an in-situ vaccine, training the body's immune system to attack the cancer and prevent recurrence. We have had many false dawns in GBM trials but we are very excited by the results so far with TGX-007. Part 1 of 2 and this is a trial story we want to follow through. Enjoy!!!

  • May 21 · 30 min

    Episode 103: In the clinic - Radiotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer with Ganesh Radhakhrishna

    Send us Fan Mail Today we are talking about the role of radiotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer with the superb Dr Ganesh Radhakrishna from the Christie Hospital in Manchester. Radiotherapy may play an increasing role in pancreatic cancer. Stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) is helping to get excellent control rates in localised pancreatic cancer and may play a role alongside surgery in pancreatic cancer. Will radiotherapy ever replace surgery in select cases?

  • May 14 · 30 min

    Episode 102: Fundamentals - Immunotherapy and Kidney Cancer: One Woman’s Story with Annie Anderson

    Send us Fan Mail Join us as we talk to Annie Anderson to get a patient view on advanced kidney cancer and its treatment. Annie was diagnosed with stage IV Kidney Cancer in 2022 which had spread to liver, bone, brain. She went from climbing and running 18 miles to struggling to function. She describes the choices she made and how immunotherapy with has controlled her cancer and allowed her to continue her normal life. A really powerful thing to hear how Annie has tackled her diagnosis and aimed to take positive steps every day. She describes how continuing the things that give her joy like family, cold-water swimming and climbing have allowed her retain her sense of self along the way. You cannot help but be inspired. Enjoy

  • May 7 · 28 min

    Episode 101: In the Clinic - The future of Adjuvant treatment in kidney cancer with Dr Will Ince and Dr Naveen Vasudev

    Send us Fan Mail Join us as we complete our tour of the adjuvant kidney cancer treatment space. We are joined again by the excellent Dr Will Ince from Cambridge and Dr Naveen Vasudev from Leeds! In our last episode we discussed KEYNOTE 564 and the RAMPART study and where this places immunotherapy in adjuvant kidney cancer. In this episode we discuss the LITESPARK 022 trial and the addition of Belzutifan to Pembrolizumab in adjuvant kidney cancer treatment. We also discuss the potential for KIM-1 to be used as a biomarker to highlight those higher risk patients that may benefit from adjuvant immunotherapy. This is an exciting time for adjuvant treatment in kidney cancer. All this as Will continues to misbehave to amuse himself!! We hope you enjoy!

  • April 30 · 36 min

    Episode 100: In the Clinic - Adjuvant Therapy in Kidney Cancer - The Treatment Landscape with Dr Will Ince and Dr Naveen Vasudev

    Send us Fan Mail Joins us as we celebrate 100 episodes in style!! In the first of our 2 part special we tackle the Adjuvant Treatment Landscape in Kidney Cancer. We talk to Dr Will Ince from Addenbrookes Hospital Cambridge and Dr Naveen Vasudev from St James’s Hospital Leeds. We discuss the arrival of immunotherapy with the KEYNOTE 564 trial. We discuss the importance of the RAMPART study and backing up the concept of a survival signal from immunotherapy in adjuvant Kidney cancer. We discuss our concept of risk and benefit. Nav steers us through this evolving landscape whilst Will Ince generally misbehaves!!! Enjoy

  • April 24 · 23 min

    Episode 99: Fundamentals- Early stage melanoma with Dr Toby Talbot (Part 2)

    Send us Fan Mail Welcome back for Part 2 of our Early Melanoma series with Dr Toby Talbot. We dive in to the potential side effects of treatment and how this affects decisions about adjuvant treatment. We hear about adjuvant BRAF targeted therapy, with more side effects but temporary ones. We look at the future with the NADINA trial for neoadjuvant immunotherapy in high risk clinical stage III disease, the emerging role of cancer vaccines, and biomarkers to try and find the right treatment for the right patient. Tour de force as always. Keep an eye out for upcoming podcasts on the treatment of advanced/metastatic melanoma.

  • April 17 · 23 min

    Episode 98: Fundamentals- Treating early stage melanoma with Dr Toby Talbot (Part 1)

    Send us Fan Mail We welcome back our very own Dr Toby Talbot Consultant Clinical Oncologist at Royal Cornwall Hospital for his patient-focussed insights into managing early stage melanoma. In this two part series, we explore what melanoma is, why it comes about and how it is investigated. We discuss surgery, why this might be a two stage procedure and the importance of sentinel lymph node biopsy. We then delve into some of the drug treatments available, used to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back. We focus mainly on immunotherapy and the possible benefits of treatment in Part 1. Tune in next week for Part 2 where we explore some of the side effects of treatments, BRAF directed therapy and how these drugs are possibly going to be used before surgery.

  • April 9 · 31 min

    Episode 97: Fundamentals - The Simply Oncology A to Z of oncology with Debbie Victor CNS

    Send us Fan Mail Join us for something a bit different this week!! We though it would be fun ( and hopefully helpful) to make an A to Z of Oncology. Are you a patient or care who is newly diagnosed with cancer. Are you new to working around cancer care. Are you in training and want to learn more. Indeed- are you in cancer care and want to know why we have chosen our A to Z. We get the super experienced Clinical Nurse Specialist Debbie Victor to help us out. As Education trustee for the British Association of Urology Nurses she knows a thing or 2 about supporting patients in cancer. If you have a better A to Z please feel free to contact us and let us know!! If you want a recap the list is in the transcript👍 Enjoy

  • March 25 · 37 min

    Episode 96: Artificial Intelligence in Radiotherapy - the ARCHERY trial with Professor Ajay Aggarwal

    Send us Fan Mail Join us as we tackle the topic of Artificial intelligence in Radiotherapy. This week we speak to the excellent Professor Ajay Aggarwal about the use of AI in radiotherapy planning. We discuss the international ARCHERY trial using an AI radiotherapy planning tool to streamline radiotherapy planning in prostate, head & neck and cervical cancers. This PRA artificial planning tool developed at the MD Anderson hospital could unlock huge radiotherapy delivery potential in Low & middle income countries and beyond! This trial of 990 patients is being conducted in Jordan, South Africa, India and Malaysia. All radiotherapy trials are hard to get funded. This remains an area of need for oncology trial funding. Massive respect and congratulations to Ajay and the international team for getting unified treatment protocols and to actually prospectively test and AI solution in radiotherapy. We hope you enjoy Link below to the ARCHERY trial manuscript. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/12/e077253

  • March 20 · 23 min

    Episode 95: PSMA Lutetium in Prostate Cancer with Dr Amy Eccles -part 2

    Send us Fan Mail 🎙️New Simply Oncology Podcast to complete our PSMA Lutetium in #ProstateCancer 🎙️Join us for the Part 2 of our masterclass with the superb Dr Amy Eccles⭐️ As we focus on #ProstateCancerAwarenessMonth we look at future directions for PSMA Lutetium in Prostate Cancer. The British Nuclear Medicine Society are having there annual conference this week. Molecular radiation may offer amazing treatment options in the near future🙌🏽 See link below👇or wherever you get your podcasts ⭐️ https://lnkd.in/eJ7Zy5e8 Enjoy☢️

  • March 19 · 29 min

    Episode 94: PSMA Lutetium in Prostate Cancer with Dr Amy Eccles

    Send us Fan Mail PSMA Lutetium has been in the background for metastatic prostate cancer for several years. Joins us as we discuss this exciting treatment in metastatic prostate cancer with the excellent Dr Amy Eccles who works at Imperial Hospital London and also the London Clinic. Amy is a radiologist who delivers PSMA Lutetium at the London Clinic and shares her experience with us. Attaching Lutetium-177 to PSMA to deliver a beta-emitting radiation payload to prostate cancer cells. Essentially targeted liquid radiotherapy. This is novel therapy that is not yet funded in the NHS. We discuss who a good patient may be and what potential side effects they could expect. This field of Theranostics is expending rapidly and where does this sit with our current prostate cancer treatment landscape??