Taking Control of Cancer

This is the first of two episodes with Toby Freeman, CEO & Founder of The Robin Cancer Trust (www.therobincancertrust.org). In this episode Toby talks to host Steve Bland about raising awareness of cancer in young people and the impact of losing his brother, Robin.

At the age of 22, after Robin died from a late-stage germ cell cancer diagnosis, Toby founded The Robin Cancer Trust with a mission to save lives by raising awareness, delivering education, and offering support to young people affected by testicular or ovarian cancer.
 
This episode explores the impact of cancer on family members, especially when it comes to losing a sibling and how this can be a different experience from losing a friend or parent. For example, Toby talks about the moment when he became older than his brother, which was a very emotional milestone.
 
The episode talks about what support is available and what support would be helpful to have in place. It also talks about the work that The Robin Cancer Trust is doing to raise awareness of cancer and offering support to people affected by cancer.

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What is Taking Control of Cancer?

Welcome to Taking Control of Cancer, the podcast from the North East London Cancer Alliance. Think of us as your ‘how to’ guide when it comes to busting common cancer myths, overcoming fears and barriers, and improving cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.

This series aims to provide both patients and healthcare professionals with tangible things they can do to help when it comes to cancer. Whilst we know not all cancers are preventable, there are things we can all do that could make a positive difference to the health and wellbeing of our family, friends and colleagues.

There are two underlying themes across all episodes – the importance of early diagnosis, and reducing health inequalities.

Host:
Steve Bland is an award-winning podcaster and producer and one of the three presenters of the BBC podcast You, Me and the Big C, which was set up by his first wife - BBC presenter Rachael Bland - before her death from triple negative breast cancer in 2018.

Regular guests:
Dr Angela Wong, Chief Medical Officer, North East London Cancer Alliance:
Angela is a driving force behind improving cancer diagnostics for residents across north east London. As Chief Medical Officer for the North East London Cancer Alliance, Angela works tirelessly on delivering innovation and service improvements for cancer patients.

Femi Odewale, Managing Director, North East London Cancer Alliance:
Femi leads the programme teams from the North East London Cancer Alliance across three core areas of work: Early Diagnosis, Diagnosis and Treatment, and Personalised Care.