Yesterday was a very amazing day as we got the Fast train we never dreamt it would turn out to be such a eventful day.

We were all booked in for BTOG– Mesothelioma UK & British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG) – The Essential Update on Wednesday 22nd March 2017, Venue:

Welcome Foundation, London

It was pouring with Rain as we walked from St Pancreas to Euston which isn’t to far but in the rain and cold it seemed miles thank goodness we take our stick when we go to London.

I love this meeting as the people who attend are all medical or connected to Mesothelioma in some way. Doctors Nurses as well as Mesothelioma Uk nurses attend with Solicitors and BLF, MSD and other drug companies and so many Doctors that are so Mesothelioma dedicated.

Mesothelioma UK and British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG)
Mesothelioma 2017 – The Essential Update
Date: Wednesday 22nd March 2017
Venue: Wellcome Foundation, London – easily accessible from Euston or St Pancreas
Approved by the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom for 5 category 1 (external) CPD credits (code 109884).

Mesothelioma UK and BTOG are pleased to be collaborating to present Mesothelioma 2017 – The Essential Update. The meeting will be co-chaired by the Mesothelioma UK Chair of Trustees, Professor Michael Peake and BTOG Chair, Dr Sanjay Popat.
The educational meeting will attract over 100 thoracic oncology health care professionals from the multi-disciplinary team.

09:00 Registration and Refreshments – Williams Lounge Meeting – Henry Wellcome Auditorium Chairs: Michael Peake and Liz Darlison

09:30 Open and Welcome Michael Peake
09:35 Mesothelioma UK’s Strategy for Making Mesothelioma Matter Liz Darlison and an Update on the Mesothelioma Coalition
10:00 National Mesothelioma Audit Susan Harden 10:15 BTS Mesothelioma Guidelines Ian Woolhouse
10:30 Panel
10:45 Diagnosis, Staging and Symptom Control in 2017
11:15 Approaches to the Optimal Diagnosis of Mesothelioma Nick Maskell
11:30 Mesothelioma Staging Classification John Edwards
11:45 Symptom Control in Mesothelioma Andrew Wilcock
12:00 Does the Specialist Mesothelioma MDT Add Value? Anna Bibby
12:15 National Peritoneal Mesothelioma MDT Emily Arbuthnot-Smith and Akash Mehta
12:30 Panel
Supporting Research in 2017 Chairs: Sanjay Popat and Peter Szlosarek
13:45 Mesobank Robert Rintoul
14:00 The Importance of Mesothelioma Genetics Bill Cookson
14:20 Basic Science Research Funding and Grants Ian Jarrold
14:30 Panel
The Clinical Trials Portfolio in 2017 – Criteria and How to Access
15:00 Chemotherapy/Immunotherapy Sanjay Popat
15:20 Radiotherapy Noelle O’Rourke 15:35 Surgical Eric Lim
15:50 Panel
16:15 Close
Programme Final

Chairs/Speakers:

  • Emily Arbuthnot-Smith, Peritoneal Malignancy Service Manager, Hampshire Hospitals NHSFT
  • Dr Anna Bibby, NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow, School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol
  • Professor William Cookson (Bill), Professor of Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London
  • Liz Darlison, Mesothelioma UK Director of Services and Consultant Nurse, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
  • Mr John Edwards, Consultant Thoracic Surgeon, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield and BTOG Chair of Trustees
  • Dr Susan Harden, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Cambridge University Hospitals
  • Ian Jarrold, Head of Research, British Lung Foundation
  • Mr Eric Lim, Consultant Thoracic Surgeon, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust
  • Professor Nick Maskell, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, University of Bristol
  • Dr Akash Mehta, Clinical Fellow, Hampshire Hospitals NHSFT
  • Professor Michael Peake, Honorary Consultant and Professor of Respiratory Medicine, University of Leicester and Clinical Lead for Early Diagnosis, National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), Public Health England and Mesothelioma UK Chair of Trustees
  • Dr Sanjay Popat, Consultant Thoracic Medical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics Group at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London and BTOG Chair
  • Dr Noelle O’Rourke, Consultant Clinical Oncology, Beatson Oncology Centre, Glasgow
  • Dr Robert Rintoul, Consultant Respiratory Physician, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Dr Peter Szlosarek, Clinical Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Medical Oncology at the Barts Cancer Institute (QMUL) and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital
  • Dr Andrew Wilcock, Clinical Reader in Palliative Medicine and Medical Oncology, University of Nottingham
  • Dr Ian Woolhouse, Consultant Respiratory Physician, University Hospitals Birmingham

You can see from this that there is just so much info I just can report all but there are a couple of things that stand out.

Pain Control —- Codeine is the best to use as it changes to Morphine in our bodies. Morphine is quicker pain control than Opioids Please disguise with Oncologist but that is amazing.

A thing learnt is they should do a first CT scan before they drain our fluid off It gives a better scan and diagnosis .

I’m afraid I did set 2 questions to the Panel that threw them. Bill Cookson spoke to us about The Importance of Mesothelioma Genetics so I asked the question that Mesothelioma doesn’t have many mutations and so does chemo change the mutation for Immunotherapy to work. As I was so toxic. He had no answer and apologised and told me it was a very good question he has now to go away and think about it, I saw him at lunch and we laughed. I said I’m sorry if I put you in a spot but he wouldn’t hear of it and really wants to solve it for me.

The other question was to Dr Robert Rintoul, Consultant Respiratory Physician, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust who gave a great talk on the Tissue bank but I was amazed that he had collected enough data to do a study of looking at Bi-Ops and comparing Mesothelioma.

MesobanK is the UK’s largest unique collection of high-quality tissue, cells and blood samples from mesothelioma patients. It is dedicated to the study of mesothelioma by providing researchers with samples for a range of mesothelioma research. It is the patients that donated their Bi-Ops.

Mesothelioma is a disease affecting both men and women and is most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos. Present treatments do not cure the disease and the aim of MesobanK is to make available samples and data which may be able to assist researchers find new and more effective treatments. As well as access to tissue, scientists can request anonymised data linked to the sample, and the treatments they’ve received.

MesobanK was established in 2012 and collaborates with hospitals around the UK to identify patients with mesothelioma and collect samples.

I said that when I cane back from Ireland BTOG2017 we had been told to make sure we all knew where our tissue was being stored as finding out for Trials was taking for some up to 5 months to trace.and like others I thought Mine was at Papworth but I do know I have some at St Barts and The Royal Marsden. Robert said he didn’t know what they did with the Tissue. He will find out. He said the best questions usually do come from Patients.

It was just as it all came to the end that we had heard about the trouble at the House Of commons.

Ray had miss calls on his phone from our son who was so worried just where we were.

I know why he did that as it bought back a bad Saturday for the pair of them I feel sick when I look back at this. Terry was blown off a ladder and fell on his Dad and yet they still phoned me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Bishopsgate_bombing

We were fine and got home safe unlike the poor people we have seen so many distressing photos today and the wonderful Policeman that lost his life. It was so distressing. But I loved hearing how the medics and nurses ran out of St Thomas’s bless them I bet they saved lives by being on the scene so quick.

A huge thank you to all the emergency Services and al the wonderful people that came and helped the poor people involved.

FIVE people were killed, including the attacker, and around 29 others were injured, after a knifeman brought terror to the heart of Westminster during a deadly attack.
A police officer was knifed to death inside the ground of Parliament, and members of the public were killed during the attack in London on Wednesday.

Among those injured were people from Ireland, America South Korea, Romania, France, Poland and Germany.

RIP