“By supporting Weston Park Cancer Charity, you’ll contribute to our research” | Celebrating 25 years of Sheffield's Cancer Clinical Trials Centre

For 25 years, the Cancer Clinical Trials Centre (CCTC) has been advancing cancer research and developing new treatments for patients. Funding from Weston Park Cancer Charity helped to establish the centre in 1999, and the charity has been supporting the centre’s groundbreaking work ever since.

One of the key ways in which Weston Park Cancer Charity contributes to the CCTC is by funding research nurse posts. We spoke to Vicky Hallworth, senior sister and research nurse in the gastrointestinal team, to find out more about the centre’s crucial work.

Tell us about your background and your role at the CCTC?

I qualified as a nurse in 2006 and spent five years at Barnsley Hospital before joining Weston Park Cancer Centre in 2012. I started as a staff nurse and then moved on to the research unit in 2019. Now, I’m a senior sister and I’m also the gastrointestinal research team lead and clinical trial assistants team lead.

No two days are the same in my job! Sometimes I’ll be focused on recruiting new patients for trials and following up with current patients. On others I might be meeting with trial sponsors or dealing with paperwork. Some days are very clinical, and others are more clerical.

What made you want to specialise in cancer research?

I love the difference that you can make working in research. When I joined Weston Park Cancer Centre I worked on the Day Case Unit. One of the treatments we used to give took around 8 hours to administer. Through research we got that down to an hour and half – and now it’s a 5-minute injection. Changes like that make a real difference to a patient’s quality of life.

How do research studies benefit those who take part in them?

Clinical trials offer much-needed hope to patients. Especially as they can sometimes enable people to access treatments that aren’t yet available on the NHS.

Sadly, we can’t cure every patient. But even if we extend someone’s life by a few months, that may allow them to attend a family wedding or a special birthday. It might not sound like a lot, but for our patients it can mean so much.

Many of our patients also like to know that by taking part in a trial they’re making a difference and helping others going forward.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

Getting to know our incredible patients and their families. I’m amazed by our patients. They’re going through the hardest time in their life, and they may be on a trial that they know won’t help them directly. But they find the strength to keep going.

It’s also very rewarding to see the impact that successful trials make. Trials have helped us to bring treatment lengths down and increase survival rates for many types of cancer. Without them, we wouldn’t have immunotherapies and targeted therapies. When you see those changes in action it makes it all worthwhile.

How has cancer research evolved over your career? And what does the future hold?

Cancer research has led to a wider array of treatments, such as immunotherapies and targeted therapies. As well as being very effective, these treatments are improving quality of life for patients – as they cause fewer side effects compared to chemotherapy.

Within my department, we’ve started working on bowel cancer vaccine trials. It’s a very new area of work that could make a massive difference to the way we approach cancer in the future. We’re also trialling different blood tests which would help us to detect cancer cells earlier.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. How has research impacted the treatment of this type of cancer?

Pancreatic cancer is a particularly aggressive form of cancer that remains difficult to treat. Right now, we’re exploring how best to combine treatments that are already available. Outcomes are improving gradually but we haven’t yet found the silver bullet that we need. Going forward, we’re aiming to run more trials so we can hopefully find new treatments.

How does funding from Weston Park Cancer Charity impact your work?

Funding from Weston Park Cancer Charity is crucial as it helps us to employ the research staff who run our trials. The charity also enhances the facilities at the Day Case Unit where our patients have their treatment.

On a personal level, Weston Park Cancer Charity has supported me and other members of staff to attend conferences. These opportunities are invaluable because they allow us to network and access the most up-to-date knowledge.

How does Weston Park Cancer Charity’s work impact your patients?

Patients often tell us how hard it is to get to the hospital, and some have even considered turning down treatment because they can’t get to their appointments. Being able to refer people to Weston Park Cancer Charity’s transport service is a massive help. The charity also provides financial advice to our patients and that can make a huge difference.

Patients also love the complementary therapies that the charity provides and the Look Good, Feel Better sessions. Our patients can’t speak highly enough of Weston Park Cancer Charity. We’re lucky to have it.

“Cancer now affects one in two of us; the money that you donate to Weston Park Cancer Charity could improve treatments and outcomes for your own friends and relatives in the future. By supporting the charity you’ll contribute to our research, which has the potential to change and save lives.”

You can enable life-changing cancer research and support the Cancer Clinical Trials Centre by making a donation today.