Teesside University researchers working to improve cancer awareness

Researchers from the Teesside Oncology ResearCH (TORCH) partnership are taking part in a Middlesbrough town centre roadshow to mark World Ovarian Cancer Day on Friday 8 May.

Teesside University Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow Dr Sweta Sharma Saha will be in various locations across Middlesbrough with her research team to help raise awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms.

The team will be at Middlesbrough Train Station from 11.00am to 11.45am, Middlesbrough Town Hall from noon to 12.45pm, and Hill Street Shopping Centre, near the Boots store, from 1.00pm to 1.45pm.

The research team aim to highlight that ovarian cancers can be hard to diagnose, as symptoms can be similar to more common and less serious conditions. The team will share information on common symptoms of ovarian cancer and will encourage anyone they meet at the roadshow who persistently exhibits these symptoms to contact their GP to get tested.?

TORCH is a partnership between Teesside University’s National Horizons Centre and the Tees Valley Research Alliance at University Hospitals Tees. At Teesside University, the partnership is led by Professor Vikki Rand and is co-led by Dr Sweta Sharma Saha.

Ovarian Cancer is one of several areas that the TORCH partnership is working on, with other focuses including pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, head and neck cancers, hematology, bone cancer and respiratory cancers.

The vision of the TORCH partnership is to work with clinical teams and industry, alongside Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Groups to improve cancer survival in the region and beyond. These PPIE Groups aim to ensure that cancer research is driven by Patient-Centred Culture and the needs, priorities, and experiences of patients and their families are at the forefront.

To find out more about shaping research design through involvement with the TORCH PPIE groups contact Dr Sweta Sharma Saha at S.SharmaSaha@tees.ac.uk.

---