Can I Butt In?

Sam rewinds to last year’s Big Bowel Event, resharing a session called PaRT Life. In this session, three members of the PaRT network discussed their patient experiences and their experiences of getting involved in research. The members are Steve Clark, Alicia Cropley, and Nigel Horwood. Sam also provides details on the upcoming Big Bowel Event 2024, taking place online on 22nd August.

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In the second of this two-part series on the spread of bowel cancer to the peritoneum, Sam is joined by Becky Maskill and Rebecca (Bex) Halstead. Becky has experience of peritoneal metastases, and Bex is Lead Colorectal/Peritoneal Tumour Clinical Nurse Specialist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. Becky tells her patient story, Bex explains what her role involves, and the two discuss their long relationship since Becky’s diagnos...

Sam is joined by Dr Meera Patel to talk about her research into the spread of bowel cancer to the peritoneum. Meera is an Academic Clinical Lecturer at The University of Manchester and a trainee bowel surgeon, splitting her time equally between her academic medical research work and her clinical practice treating patients in the Northwest of England. Sam and Meera discuss what the peritoneum is, how cancer can spread there and how ...

Sam presented at Oncology Professional Care conference on 22nd May 2024 and provides a rerun of those presentations in this episode. The first presentation is on patient and public involvement (PPI), including what it is, how it is done at Bowel Research UK, and debunking nine common PPI misconceptions. The second talk is based on Sam’s patient experiences of navigating the healthcare system with a genetic predisposition to cancer....

Tonia Hickman and Daniel Peckham join Sam to discuss the connection between cystic fibrosis and bowel conditions such as bowel cancer. Tonia Hickman has cystic fibrosis and had part of her small bowel and some lymph nodes removed due to fibromatosis. Professor Daniel Peckham is Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leeds, an adult respiratory physician, and conducts research into the gut microbiome and cancer. This...

Helen West, Public Patient Involvement & Engagement Officer at Guts UK, joins Sam to talk about the charities’ joint project, a diverticular disease priority setting partnership. Helen and Sam explain what a priority setting partnership is, what we’ve done so far, what’s going to happen, how you can get involved, and why we’re looking into diverticular disease. Guts UK is the only UK charity funding research into the digestive ...

In the second of this two-part series on “mini colonoscopies” performed using LumenEye, Sam is joined by Dr Ammara Hughes. Dr Ammara Hughes is a GP partner at Bloomsbury Surgery, Central London, and Clinical Director of Central Camden Primary Care Network. LumenEye was created by MedTech company SurgEease. Ammara explains how LumenEye is used at GP practices to diagnose conditions such as haemorrhoids and anal fissures, and how thi...

Sam is joined by Mr Emilio Lozano to discuss a tool called LumenEye, which is used to perform what some refer to as “mini colonoscopies” in a range of scenarios. Emilio is a general surgeon with a special interest in anorectal neoplasia colorectal and general surgery in spinal injury patients and benign colorectal disease. LumenEye was created by MedTech company SurgEease. Emilio provides insights into the different types of endosc...

Sam and guest Diane Kelsey draw attention to microscopic colitis – what is it, how is it different to ulcerative colitis, and how does it affect diet and lifestyle? Diane was diagnosed with microscopic colitis in February 2021 shortly after retiring from teaching, and she explains how her condition was diagnosed, what the symptoms were, how she manages it and how it affects her daily life.

Read the transcript for this episode.

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Researchers Robert Kerrison and Gerard Cummins talk to Sam about Samplecam, an innovative new type of capsule endoscopy currently in the works. They explain their research on Samplecam, which is a video capsule endoscopy that will also be capable of taking samples of the bowel as it travels through it. They discuss what a video capsule endoscopy normally does, how this technology will be different, and the potential impact on the p...

Sam is joined by Olivia Rose, Chief Marketing Officer at Ostique, to talk about a new app for people with stomas. Ostique Connect is a first-of-its-kind support platform for ostomates, providing the opportunity to connect with others for one-to-one peer support. Olivia and Sam discuss the development of the app and the valuable feedback ostomates have provided during the beta testing process.

Ostique website: https://ostique.co.uk/...

Bowel Research UK’s Patient and Public Involvement Manager Sam Alexandra Rose is joined by Steve Clark to discuss his research into the “nocebo” effect. Steve was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in 2013 and has since become an active patient advocate. In 2017 he set up StriveForFive.org, a not-for-profit organization with the mission to give hope to fellow patients with stage 4 cancer. Steve and Sam talk about the nocebo e...

In a Rare Disease Day special, Sam provides an overview of several rare and lesser-known bowel conditions, including CIPO (chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction), mesenteric plexitis, Hirschsprung’s disease, metastatic small bowel obstruction, paediatric IBD, and Enterocutaneous Fistula or ECF. She also explains the ultra-rare genetic condition constitutional mismatch repair deficiency (CMMRD) and its relationship with Lynch syndro...

Bowel Research UK’s Patient and Public Involvement Manager Sam Alexandra Rose is joined by Pete Wheatstone to discuss his experiences of having bowel cancer while being self-employed. They talk about how bowel cancer symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, and long-term effects impact business for those who work for themselves. They also cover the differences between being employed and self-employed with cancer, including the financial im...

Bowel Research UK’s Patient and Public Involvement Manager Sam Alexandra Rose is joined by Simon Boddis to discuss the nuances of cancer language. What language does the media use to describe people with cancer, what do we say to each other in society, and how does that make us feel? Simon was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2020 and has a permanent stoma.

Read the transcript for this episode.

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In this episode of Can I Butt In, Bowel Research UK's Patient and Public Involvement Manager, Sam Alexandra Rose, is joined by Jacqueline Black, a doctoral researcher at Kings College London with a background in health psychology. Some of her work is funded by Bowel Research UK, and they discuss how having a chronic illness can inflict stress on a patient, and how stress can affect the illness that a person experiences. Along with ...

Bowel Research UK's Patient and Public Involvement Manager, Sam Alexandra Rose, is joined by Louise Usher, a registered nutritionist, Crohn's disease patient and a guest Blogger for Bowel Research UK. She talks about her past experiences, how she became a registered nutritionist and how that allows her to help others with Crohn's disease. They also talk about the daily and holiday struggles of Crohn's patients and provide useful ad...

Bowel Research UK's Patient and Public Involvement Manager, Sam Alexandra Rose, is joined by Alicia Toon, Marketing and Communications Executive at Odin Vision. Together, they provide a simple explanation of what AI (Artificial Intelligence) is and what colonoscopies involve. They emphasize the benefits of combining AI with colonoscopies for both doctors and patients. Alicia discusses the research conducted by Odin Vision and highl...

Bowel Research UK's Patient and Public Involvement Manager, Sam Alexandra Rose, is joined by Emma Tuschick and Karen Manton. Emma Tuschick is a doctoral candidate and research associate at Teesside University, while Karen Manton is an expert in bipolar disorder based on personal experience. They are part of a research team investigating the experiences, thoughts, and emotions of individuals with severe mental illness and learning d...