Previous webinars
Education and Events
Nicky Lambert, Clinical Lead for Nursing and Jayne Herring, Engagement and Involvement Delivery Manager, took us through the latest Quality of Life Survey results for cancer covering:
- What our patients told us
- Opportunities to learn, evaluate and improve
- What we can do with data to support local initiatives
- How we use local intelligence to triangulate National surveys
- Next steps for the survey and the ask of the audience
(Recorded March 2026)
Dr Richard Gallon, Senior Research Associate at Newcastle University presented on one of the commonest hereditary cancer syndromes that has been known about for more than three decades – Lynch Syndrome.
Fewer than 10% of people with Lynch syndrome have a diagnosis and treatment and surveillance options are still limited. The webinar covered a brief history of Lynch syndrome, the outstanding problems in Lynch syndrome healthcare, and how new technologies can address these.
There was also a focus on how microsatellite instability assays developed at Newcastle University are being used to find people with Lynch syndrome and to analyse liquid biopsies for early cancer detection. (Recorded February 2026)
In this session Dr Luke Sayers discussed the case of Jess Brady and explored the dangers discontinuity poses to patients with evolving symptoms.
He highlighted the solutions and tools that can be taken back to practices, allowing continuity of care to be built back into workplaces and benefiting their patients. (Recorded February 2026)
Further Resources
👉 BMJ Learning course – Continuity of Care
👉 BMJ letter – the value of continuity of care
👉 GPonline.com – podcast with Dr Luke Sayers, a GP partner and the lead for clinical continuity of care at North Tyneside ICB, and Dr Tom Kennedy, a GP registrar and ICB clinical fellow about the importance of continuity, addressing some of the main concerns/barriers and issues.
👉 Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) 2025 Conference – Whitley Bay Health Centre presented a poster on how practices can build in continuity of care.
👉 NENC ICB draft Continuity of Care Toolkit. Please check Boost over the next few weeks for the final version, along with other resources.
👉 RGCP Continuity of Care Work at Royal College of General Practitioners blog with further useful resources.
In this session Alex Langridge, haematology consultant, covered some of the most commonly asked questions received about malignant haematology including serum electrophoresis and free light chain test interpretation.
He also addressed questions about chronic haematology cancers and the blood counts that cause concern to haematologists, and the ones that do not need further investigation. (Recorded January 2026)
In this session Dr Diana Mansour discussed new guidance published by the British Menopause Society detailing modifications to HRT regimens to reduce unscheduled bleeding.
The new guidance emphasises investigation for those with persistent unscheduled bleeding on HRT, with a transvaginal ultrasound scan recommended within six weeks for heavy and/or prolonged bleeding, or any bleeding that starts more than six months after initiating HRT or three months after a dose change. (Recorded December 2025)
In this session Dr Shaun Lackey, GP Clinical Lead, and Fiona Anderson, Cancer Delivery Lead for the Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA), explored the latest on current topics including:
- BMS Guidance for Unscheduled Bleeding on HRT and Endometrial Cancers
- Regional Bladder Cancer Audit and the innovative NCA Bladder Cancer Toolkit
- The new Breast Pain Pathway
- Current best practice for Colorectal Cancers and the use of FIT
- Dermatology and others
It was a great opportunity to get up to speed with the latest regional developments in early cancer diagnosis, giving a concise update on key clinical guidance and important pathway developments, shaping patient care. Also covered – insights into quality improvement activities.
The content is the same as recent PLT sessions held in North Tyneside, Northumberland, Newcastle and Gateshead. (Recorded October 2025)
Download the presentation here
In this session Emma Golightly, Health Improvement Practitioner for Gateshead Health, talked about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and the breast screening programme, while Kate Cockbain, Breast Delivery Lead for the Northern Cancer Alliance, discussed the breast pain pathway.
Simon Lowes, Consultant Breast Radiologist and honorary clinical senior lecturer at Newcastle University, told us about the newly launched Northern Centre for Breast Research as well research that is happening in breast. (Recorded October 2025)
In this session Mr Kanagasabai Sahadevan, Consultant Urologist at SRH & UHND and Northern Cancer Alliance Urology Consultant Lead, provided a refresher on bladder cancer recognition and referral, as well as the management of bladder symptoms (including non-visible haematuria and recurrent UTIs) to enhance and improve clinical assessment and decision-making. He covered the different non-GP practice-based routes open to patients for the treatment of UTIs, and national and regional trends that highlight a fall in one-year survival rates, gender differences in survival rates, and the significant number of patients being diagnosed via non-USC routes. (Recorded September 2025)
In this session Nicky Lambert, Clinical Lead for Nursing and Jayne Herring, Engagement and Involvement Delivery Manager took us through the 2024 National Cancer Patient Experience Survey (NCPES) results and the NCA actions for 25/26. (Recorded August 2025)
In this session Claire Powlesland, Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Radiotherapy and Oncology, and Yvonne Anderson, Macmillan Lead Gynae Oncology Nurse, discussed the late effects of pelvic radiotherapy, covering:
- What do we mean by ‘late effects’?
- What causes long term toxicity?
- When can late effects develop?
- The incidence of long-term toxicity
- What is the impact on patients affected?
Following the introduction, they gave a brief overview of the service at South Tees with a focus on eligibility criteria, and an update on the Macmillan late effects of pelvic radiotherapy project and development of a resource directory. (Recorded August 2025)
In this session Tina Benn-MacKay, Advanced Clinical Practitioner, introduced us to the acute side effects from radiotherapy, covering:
- Brief overview of radiotherapy
- General common side effects of radiotherapy
- Recognising common acute side effects by treatment area
- Symptom management and escalation
(Recorded July 2025)
The session focused on the cancer elements of the PCN DES, to support PCNs in their endeavours to improve early cancer diagnosis and patient outcomes. (Recorded June 2025)
Dr Tim Cunliffe, Joint lead for Skin Cancer & Skin Surgery, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, talks through a presentation designed to give health professionals and non-health professionals, who regularly come into contact with the skin, the confidence to recognise potentially cancerous lesions without the use of a dermatoscope and detail what course of action to take. (Recorded June 2025)
Understanding the impact of Health Inequalities on patients in our cancer pathways and making diagnosis and care accessible to those who need it most.
On some of our cancer pathways we are seeing increasing proportions of patients who were not referred through standard ‘2WW or urgent suspected cancer (USC)’ pathways, as patients face challenges with recognising symptoms and accessing primary care.
Once on a diagnostic pathway all tumour groups see different health inequalities at play in our patient’s ability to access services, their experience of cancer treatments and their outcomes.
In this session Dr Ruth Sharrock, Consultant Respiratory Physician at QE Gateshead and NCA Lung Cancer and Health Inequalities Lead along with Sheron Robson, NCA Programme Manager for Timely Presentation, Screening, Health Inequalities use an example of a piece of work on the lung cancer pathway that showcases how recording those with multiple complex needs (MCN) and making reasonable adjustments (RA) transforms their outcomes. (Recorded June 2025)
Download the presentation here
Jenny Johns, Clinical Lead for Psychology for the Northern Cancer Alliance and Lead Psychologist for Northumbria Cancer Psychology Service along with Graham Dyson, Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Cancer Services at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust focused on the ways in which a cancer diagnosis and its treatment can constitute a psychological trauma for many people; including both patients and staff. They explored this through the introduction of case examples and highlighted how advancing our knowledge and awareness of PTSD and Trauma Informed Care can deliver improvements in cancer pathways. (Recorded April 2025)
Wendy Carr, GP with specialist interest, talked through the Breast Pain Pathway as it becomes established in all trusts across the North East and North Cumbria. The session looked at the referral process for primary care, what patients can expect when they attend their appointment and how this impacts on Faster Diagnosis. (Recorded March 2025)
In 2022, a multi partnership collaboration within the UK was established and formed the Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development (ACCEND) programme.
The ACCEND programme seeks to address and provide solutions to key issues that challenge the cancer workforce both now and into the future promoting both recruitment and retention.
Vanessa Taylor, Professor of Cancer & Palliative Care and Director of Practice and Care Partnerships at University of Huddersfield provides an overview of the ACCEND programme and highlights how the ACCEND Framework is being implemented by systems, services, education providers and individual practitioners. (Recorded February 2025)
Christina Dobson from Newcastle University presented the findings of research undertaken with patients in rural Yorkshire, which utilised surveys and interviews to examine barriers to early presentation with symptoms of possible colorectal cancer. The research found a range of factors that influenced willingness to consult, including the impact of self-employment and cultures of stoicism on consultation behaviours. The implications of these findings on cancer pathways and possible strategies to overcome the barriers that rural patients face when experiencing symptoms was discussed.
Luke Sayers (Whitley Bay Health Centre) and Tom Kennedy (NENC ICB) then discussed continuity of care in the context of cancer – diagnosis, cancer care review and ongoing input, outlined steps we can all easily take to promote continuity in our practices and updated on the work currently going on in the region promoting continuity of care. (Recorded December 2024)
Download Rural Cancer Inequalities – Christina Dobson
Download Continuity of Care – Luke Sayers and Tom Kennedy
Download GP Continuity Article: The Keystone of General Practice
In this session Joanna Reynolds, Therapeutic Radiographer, Rosie Robinson, Therapeutic Radiographer and Nick Willis, Dosimetrist from James Cook University Hospital, discuss the importance of pre-treatment imaging and immobilisation, and how complex individual patient treatment plans are developed to target high doses of radiation to the tumour and avoid healthy tissue. (Recorded November 2024)
In this session, Rosie Robinson, Therapeutic Radiographer and Joe Whitbourn, Clinical Scientist at James Cook University Hospital along with Joanne Small, Therapeutic Radiographer at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care, tell us how radiotherapy works, along with the different treatment modalities and intent, and when and why certain treatments are delivered. (Recorded October 2024)
Mr Shane Lester, Head and Neck Clinical Lead with the NCA and ENT Consultant at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, talks through the symptoms and key points of head and neck cancers to be aware of in primary care. The session covers when to seek further advice and refer a patient and the difference that early stage detection makes to outcomes, with a focus on health inequalities. (Recorded October 2024)
Many patients experience menopausal symptoms during or after cancer treatment. Just because they have, or have had cancer, does not mean they need to put up with these symptoms.
In this session Dr Charlotte Gooding covers how to manage menopausal symptoms, giving Health Care Professionals the tools and resources to support your patients, as well as an overview of ongoing work and how to get involved. (Recorded September 2024)
4 in 5 people living with cancer are, on average, up to £891 a month worse off because of their illness. Stark statistics show that up to 50% of patients are not aware of how to get advice to identify benefits and support that they may be entitled to.
Macmillan envisage a world where every person affected by cancer is able to access free, impartial advice and guidance in relation to their finances to work in harmony alongside the medical pathway.
Focusing on the importance of welfare benefits advice to people living with cancer, Lucy Mayou and Richard Hunt, Welfare Benefits Development Managers at Macmillan Cancer Support explored the reasons why benefits advice is so important as well as highlighting the role of the benefits adviser, the outcomes that they can achieve for patients and ways to connect with local benefit services. (Recorded September 2024)
In this session Dr Richard Martin, Consultant Clinical Geneticist at Newcastle; and Helen Bethell, Genetic Counsellor for the NEY GMS covered what inherited breast cancer is and why is it important, how it can affect treatment and future management options, how patients are advised as to whether they should or shouldn’t have testing and what the health and social implications are to being tested (Recorded September 2024)
Dr Tim Cunliffe, Joint Lead for Skin Cancer & Skin Surgery, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, talks through a presentation designed to give health professionals and non-health professionals, who regularly come into contact with the skin, the confidence to recognise potentially cancerous lesions and what course of action to take. (Recorded June 2024)
‘There is cancer in my family, what does this mean for me?’
A GP’s guide to dealing with familial cancer referrals, with a focus on clinical management issues relevant to Primary Care. It is common for GPs to encounter patients who are concerned about a family history of cancer in our clinical practice. Jude Hayward (GP/GPwSI in Clinical Genetics) works within both Primary Care and in the field of Cancer Genetics. In this webinar she discusses all you need to know to manage patients with a family history of cancer, including an overview of referral criteria and primary care management issues such as HRT and contraception. (Recorded June 2024)
Julie Tucker, Project Manager for North East & Cumbria Learning Disability Network, explains reasonable adjustments and how they benefit the patient and clinician as part of the cancer pathway as well as giving an overview of the National reasonable adjustments digital flag. (Recorded April 2024)
Dr Pasquale Rescigno, Senior Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University and Senior Researcher at Candiolo Cancer Institute, Turin., discusses the clinical relevance of HR alterations, with a focus on the clinical, diagnostic and familiar impact of BRCA1/2 alterations. (Recorded April 2024)
Dr Liz Fuller, Lung Health Check and Lung Cancer Case Finding Clinical Lead (NCA) and Respiratory Consultant (NUTH) explains the detail behind lung health checks and the work primary care can undertake now throughout the pilot stages in readiness for lung health checks becoming the next national screening programme. (Recorded March 2024)
Dr Ruth Sharrock, Respiratory Consultant (QEH), Clinical Lead for Tobacco (NENC ICB), Lung and Health Inequalities Lead (NCA) discusses the health inequalities experienced by patients in terms of accessing and receiving cancer treatment and work that can be done to help overcome this. (Recorded March 2024)
Professor Alastair Greystoke, Honorary Medical Oncologist and North East & Yorkshire Genomic Medicine Service’s Clinical Director (Cancer), discusses the progress that has been made in adopting circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) testing across the NHS. (Recorded February 2024)
Dr Hassan Tahir, Primary Care Lead for Personalised Care with the Northern Cancer Alliance, discusses the importance of the Cancer Care Coordinator role in terms of both primary care and patient experience. (Recorded January 2024)
Dr Ruth Sharrock, Respiratory Consultant (QEH), Clinical Lead for Tobacco (NENC ICB), Lung and Health Inequalities Lead (NCA) discusses the importance of smoking cessation and the use of vapes in terms of both primary and secondary care. (Recorded January 2024)
Dr Hassan Tahir, Primary Care Lead for Personalised Care with the NCA, highlights the need for personalised care, what it entails, where it sits within primary care and how it can enhance both patient experience and outcome. (Recorded March 2024)
Professor Sir John Burn, discusses his experiences – and the progress has been made – over 30 years of research into Lynch syndrome. Lynch syndrome is a rare condition that can run in families and lead to a higher risk of developing certain cancers such as bowel, womb (endometrium), stomach and pancreatic. An estimated 200,000 people in the UK have Lynch syndrome, but only 5 per cent have been tested and diagnosed. (Recorded March 2024)
As genomic medicine becomes increasingly part of mainstream practice, patients, families and health professionals find themselves dealing with a number of potential ethical dilemmas. The Northern Cancer Alliance and North East & Yorkshire Genomic Medicine Service provide discussion and reflection on some of these ethical issues faced by those both providing and receiving treatment in mainstream cancer genomics. (Recorded December 2023)
The presentation by Dr Tim Cunliffe, Joint lead for Skin Cancer & Skin Surgery, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is designed to give clinicians confidence in recognising benign skin lesions to reduce unnecessary referrals. Dr Cunliffe also shares ‘tips and tricks’ that are helpful in the use of a dermatoscope and discusses the tools and resources available on the Primary Care Dermatology Society (PCDS) website.(Recorded November 2023)
Dr Jackie Cook, Consultant Geneticist and Clinical Director of the North East & Yorkshire Genomic Medicine Service talks about the specialist and complex topic of Genomics, the study of the genes in our DNA. The application of genomic technologies has the potential to enable quicker diagnosis for patients with a rare disease, match people to the most effective medication and interventions and to increase the number of people surviving cancer each year.(Recorded October 2023)
Dr Shaun Lackey and the team from Ardens provide an overview of two free online Cancer Decision Support tools – Q Cancer and Cancer Maps – for EMIS and SystmOne users. More information available here (Recorded March 2023)
Hazel Quick from Ardens explains more about the use of free clinical decision support tools for cancer, Qcancer and Cancer Maps for EMIS users. More information available here (Recorded March 2023)
Mark Keith from Ardens explains more about the use of free clinical decision support tools for cancer, Qcancer and Cancer Maps for SystmOne users. More information available here (Recorded March 2023)
