National Prostate Cancer Conference
Tuesday 9th November 2004 Speaker's Biographies  

Conference Chairman
Vivienne Parry
Vivienne Parry is a writer and broadcaster with an unusually wide range. A scientist by training, she has presented Tomorrow's World and reported for Panorama and continues to appear frequently on radio and television. She is a regular commentator on science for the Guardian, is science editor of Good Housekeeping and also writes for the Mail on Sunday, Sun and many other papers. She was the columnist of the News of the World for four years. She is currently writing a book on hormones and has two new radio programmes in production. In another life, she is the administrator of the GUS Charitable Trust, which is proud to have initiated and funded the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action.

Introduction and Welcome
Professor Jonathan Waxman
Jonathan Waxman is a Professor of Oncology at the Hammersmith Hospital, London. He has developed new treatments for cancer, which are now part of standard practice. He is the author of 250 research papers and chapters, and of eleven books on cancer. He directs a laboratory research group comprising 18 scientists. He has raised funds for the building of the Hammersmith Cancer Centre whose spirit aims to combine the best of conventional and alternative therapies. In 1996 he founded The Prostate Cancer Charity, the first United Kingdom national organisation promoting research and patient support for this condition. The Charity currently raises over £3 million per annum and employs 35 people. In 1998 he helped establish an All Party Parliamentary Group to improve cancer treatment and rationalise cancer research throughout the UK. He is a published novelist and author of a Law textbook. His wife is also a physician and they have two children.

Ministerial Launch
Lord Warner of Brockley  
Responsible for CHAI and the NHS performance ratings, quality and clinical governance, NICE, pharmaceutical industry issues, genetics and biotechnology, departmental agencies and R&D. Prior to his appointment as Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Department of Health, Norman Warner was the Chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. In the course of his career he has served as the Director of Social Services at Kent County Council, was Senior Policy Adviser to the Home Secretary, chaired the Home Secretary's Youth Justice Task Force, and was the Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Social Services in the mid 1970s. Lord Warner also chaired the National Inquiry into Selection, Development and Management of Staff in Children's Homes in 1992. Lord Warner has advised the Government on family policy and the active community. He is currently the Chairman of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, Chairman of the London Region Sports Board and is a past chairman of the Royal Philanthropic Society.

A Call to Action
John Neate
John Neate has been Chief Executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity for nearly three years. This followed a period as Director of Development for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, leading a major change and renewal programme. Prior to that, John worked for the NHS, most recently as General Manager of two acute hospitals and as Director of Commissioning for Bromley Health. John is highly committed to partnership working and, in particular, to the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action. He is a member of its Steering Group, a member of the Government's Prostate Cancer Advisory Group and Chairman of the National Prostate Cancer Website Steering Group.

Which Way for Treatment?
Professor Roger Kirby
Professor Roger Kirby qualified from the University of Cambridge in 1975 with a distinction in surgery. He became a consultant at St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1986 and nine years later moved to St George's Hospital where he was awarded a personal chair in Urology and also became Director of Post-graduate education. He is now a visiting professor at St George's and Director of the Prostate Centre in Central London. He has had an interest in prostate cancer and prostatic diseases for many years and is editor of a Journal of that title. He has personally undertaken almost 1000 radical prostatectomy operations and written over 200 papers together with more than 50 books.

Professor Malcolm Mason
Malcolm Mason, MD, FRCP, FRCR, is Cancer Research Wales Professor of Clinical Oncology at Cardiff University. His main specialist interests lie in the treatment of urological cancers and he also has laboratory interests in cancer immunotherapy and prostate cancer. He is the Director of the Wales Cancer Bank, the first National population-based tumour bank to be launched in the UK. He is an active Clinical Researcher who works closely with Cancer Research UK and the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, and has been responsible for a number of national and international clinical trials. He also chairs the Cancer Standards Group for Wales and leads the Cochrane Unit specialising in Urological Cancers, based in Cardiff.

The Case for Collaboration
Mike Birtwistle
Mike Birtwistle works for AS Biss & Co, a leading public affairs and government relations consultancy. He advises a range of clients with health interests, including the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action, which was shortlisted for Public Affairs Campaign of the Year by PR Week. The campaign has also been praised by a variety of politicians and other stakeholders as a model of best practice in voluntary sector campaigning and co-operation.   Other health issues that Mike is currently advising clients include public and patient engagement policies, the management of long term conditions, encouraging public awareness and improved health literacy and the promotion of healthy living initiatives. Before joining AS Biss & Co in 2000, he was principal researcher and press officer to Jon Trickett MP. A history graduate from Cambridge University, in 1999 he worked for the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), developing their public and Parliamentary communications. He has also assisted with the research and writing of the PCC's official history. During the 2001 General Election Mike worked in Millbank on health policy communication. He remains active within the Labour Party and, outside work, he sits on the Men's Health Forum's communications and policy advisory groups

Dr Simon Hodgson
Dr Simon Hodgson is a Senior Partner at Acona Ltd - a small employee-owned consulting company. His principal role is to act as a consultant and advisor on matters of corporate responsibility, including such issues as environment, human rights, governance and supply chains. Simon concentrates on a business-led approach, with a passionate belief that businesses must act on these issues in their own self-interest as well as for the wider good. His background experience includes both corporate strategy and detailed knowledge of the issues, allowing him to place advice firmly in the corporate context. His career started with a physics degree and D.Phil in sub-atomic Physics working at CERN in Geneva. He moved through a number of technical roles in the environmental field, before working on mergers and acquisitions, change management and corporate growth at a PLC. Prior to joining Acona, Simon was responsible for the Strategic Consulting team at AEA Technology - a group of 90 staff providing environmental services. He writes for a number of magazines and is a regular speaker and facilitator at conferences. Simon's clients include GUS plc, Burberry plc, Biffa, the Ethical Trading Initiative, and Insight Investments. He is married with one daughter, and in a happy coincidence loves both cooking and eating. Simon became involved in the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action through his work with GUS plc. Acting originally for the GUS Charitable Trust, Simon facilitated the original meeting of signatories to agree the Charter text, which he drafted. Since that point he has continued to sit on the Steering Group and has provided unpaid input to support the Charter on matters of governance and strategy.

The State of Play
Professor Mike Richards
Professor M A Richards CBE MD FRCP FRCR(Hon) FFPH qualified as a doctor in 1977. After junior medical posts in London and Nottingham, he trained in Medical Oncology as an ICRF Research Fellow at St Bartholomew's Hospital. In 1986 he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology in the ICRF Breast Unit at Guy's Hospital. His research interests focused on improving both survival and quality of life for patients with breast cancer. In 1995 he took up the chair of Palliative Medicine at St Thomas '. Mike has been involved in clinical management since 1991, first as a Clinical Director at Guy's and St Thomas ' and then through the development of the South East London Cancer Network. In October 1999 Mike was appointed National Cancer Director. Since then he has been responsible for the development and implementation of the NHS Cancer Plan.

What Benefit Early Intervention?
Dr Chris Parker
Chris Parker is a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellow, and Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology at the Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital. He is also a member a variety of groups in cluding the DoH Prostate Cancer Advisory Group, the NCRI South of England Prostate Cancer Collaborative Scientific Committee, The Prostate Cancer Charter for Action Steering Group and on the Executive committee of the British Prostate Group. He is also Chairman of the PCAG Subgroup on Patient Information.

Professor Freddie Hamdy
Freddie C. Hamdy is the founding Chair of Urology and Director of the Division of Clinical Sciences (South) at the University of Sheffield Medical School, as well as Consultant urological surgeon at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield. He was appointed in January 1999, having spent 5 years as Consultant Senior Lecturer in Urology at the University of Newcastle. He established the new Academic Urology Unit at Sheffield, which now comprises 27 staff. His main clinical interest is in the management of urological malignancies, particularly prostate and bladder cancer. His research activities encompass clinical, translational and basic science programmes on the biology of prostate and bladder cancer. His work is funded by HTA and the Department of Health, MRC, NCRI, CRUK, YCR and various other regional and national charities. He is lead investigator of a number of studies, including the UK ProtecT (Prostate testing for cancer and Treatment) study of case-finding and randomised controlled trial of treatment in early prostate cancer. He has raised in excess of £18 million in research income over the past 10 years, and has published over 100 articles as peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and reviews. He is member of a number of national and international committees, and chairs the Scientific Office of the European Association of Urology.

Influencing Government and the NHS
Peter Cardy
Peter Cardy has worked in charities and voluntary organisations for over thirty years; following periods as chief executive at the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the MS Society, he moved to Macmillan Cancer Relief at the end of 2001. Macmillan is a pioneering organisation, one of the ten largest charities in the UK, that develops new and better ways of caring for people affected by cancer from the time of diagnosis to the end of life. He is on the NCRI Board, the NHS Modernisation Board, the DoH Patient Experience Board, Chair of the NCRI Lung Cancer Strategic Planning Group and an adviser to the HTA Pharmaceuticals Panel and the Taskforce on Medicines Partnership. Peter is a prolific writer and speaker and sails offshore whenever he can. His view is that, since this is the only world of which we can be certain, we should try to leave it a better place than we entered.

Dr Richard Atkins
Richard N. Atkins, M.D. is widely recognized as one of the nation's committed health policy advocates. He was recruited into the New York City government in 1990, in order to sharpen the city's focus on public health policy, education and communications. As deputy commissioner of health, Dr. Atkins was also part of the core team that created primary care medical homes for all children in the city (the Communicare initiative, 1991).

Relocating to Southern California, Dr. Atkins took the organizational reins of CaP CURE, the Association for the Cure of Cancer of the Prostate (CaP CURE was renamed The Prostate Cancer Foundation in 2003). Founded by Michael Milken shortly after his diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer (1993), CaP CURE quickly emerged as the nation's leading private funder of prostate cancer research. During Dr. Atkins' tenure at the helm of the organization (1995-1999), CaP CURE grew its budget from approximately $5 million to $25 million annually. CaP CURE revolutionized biomedical research grant-making by insisting that applications for funding be no more than five pages and delivering dollars to investigators in 90 days or less. In addition to its individual research grants, CaP CURE has sponsored innovative clinical trials projects and young investigator awards. CaP CURE also forged significant policy during Dr. Atkins' leadership, including meetings that resulted in White House initiatives to accelerate FDA approvals of anticancer drugs, sponsorship of the first National Cancer Summit and sponsorship of "The March," which brought more than 500,000 advocates together across the country to demand a solution to the problem of cancer (1998). Dr. Atkins chaired the board of directors of "The March."

In 1999, Dr. Atkins founded CaP CURE's Government Research Initiatives Group in Washington, DC, dedicated to rapidly increase government sponsorship of sound prostate cancer research and optimal cancer public policy. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Atkins assumed the helm of the National Prostate Cancer Coalition (NPCC), the nation's largest organization dedicated to prostate cancer awareness, outreach and advocacy. In 2002, Dr. Atkins became President & CEO of NPCC, adding to his responsibilities as Vice Chair of its board of directors. Under his leadership, NPCC has developed many innovative programs, including sponsorship of the nation's only mobile vehicle for prostate cancer screening, the "Drive Against Prostate Cancer." The budget at NPCC has grown tenfold during Dr. Atkins tenure, and staffing has increased fivefold. Government funding of prostate cancer research has tripled, now more than $500 million annually. NPCC is a top-rated four star award winning charity according to Charity Navigator. WORTH Magazine designated NPCC one of America 's top 100 charities.

A graduate of Stanford University (B.A. 1969) and Stanford University School of Medicine (M.D. 1973), Dr. Atkins received postgraduate training in psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1973-1975) and in child psychiatry at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center (1975-1977). He received his certificate in psychoanalysis from the William Alanson White Institute in New York (1979) and practiced adult and child psychoanalysis for nearly 20 years. At the same time, Dr. Atkins served as residency training director in both general and child psychiatry at Downstate and subsequently as the director of child and adolescent psychiatry at New York Medical College. When he retired from academic and clinical practice (1990), Dr. Atkins was tenured professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at New York Medical College and academic chief of service in child and adolescent psychiatry at the college's affiliated hospitals in Manhattan, Bronx and Westchester counties. He is the author of more than 100 scholarly presentations and publications, focusing on various aspects of child development and child and adolescent psychopathology, particularly the emergence of father-child relatedness and peer relatedness in infants and toddlers.

Peter Langdon
NPCC 's Director of Strategic Partnerships, Peter Langdon is a distinguished leader in the field. He has played an influential role in shaping future human and fiscal capital for the National Prostate Cancer Coalition. During his 12 year career in sales and marketing, Langdon has demonstrated a unique ability to set the stage for exponential growth for companies including Bill Gates's Corbis Corporation, Getty Images (NYSE: GYI), Viewpoint Corporation (NASDAQ: VWPT), Celartem/Extensis. Langdon also has an active background in public service. Among his achievements, he has served on the steering committee for the Washington Alliance for School Age Pregnancy; was appointed to the National Youth Council of the Child Welfare League of America and was an endorsed democratic candidate for the Washington State House of Representatives. Langdon has been co-founder and chief consultant of Langdon Associates, Inc., a boutique strategic planning consultancy catering to businesses, non-profits and individual executives.

OPTIONAL SEMINARS

Living with Prostate Cancer
Helen Gunson
Helen has worked at the Bristol Cancer Help Centre for 3 years as the Therapy Programme Manager. During this time, Helen has managed all aspects of the therapy programme including the residential courses, Cancerpoint and community projects. Originally trained as a research scientist, Helen gradually moved over to a 'more people orientated' career after training in Shiatsu, Body-Centred Psychotherapy and Trauma Resolution work. Since 1997, Helen has worked in a number of different areas, including working in the rehabilitation of brain injured adults, private practice and teaching/lecturing.

Liz Butler
Elizabeth Butler is one of only several UK nutritionists who specialize in providing nutritional support to those with cancer. She first began working in this area more than 6 years ago after speaking on nutrition to a cancer group in Loughborough, a group she continues to work with today. Elizabeth graduated from university with a degree in Biochemistry and then spent 3 years training to become a nutrition consultant. Currently she is completing her Masters degree in Nutritional Medicine and as part of this qualification she is carrying out research into the effect of diet on recovery from cancer. Elizabeth currently sees patients in London and the Oxford area and also works with cancer groups across the country. She lectures at several colleges on nutrition and cancer and is fast becoming known as a respected writer on the same subject. Elizabeth has recently been employed on a part-time basis by the Bristol Cancer Help Centre to provide leadership and direction in the development of the nutritional component of the Bristol Approach.

Nikki Ratcliff
Nikki Ratcliff works as a Principal Researcher in health for Which? magazine. She is responsible for helping to develop Which?'s health strategy; carrying out and managing health services research and investigations; writing reports for Which?; and helping develop and agree policy and campaigning lines arising from research. She represents the findings of Which? reports to a number of external audience, including the media. Nikki is a lay representative on a number of committees including the Department of Health's UK National Screening Committee and Economic and Social Research Council's Innovative Health Technologies Programme Advisory Group. Nikki has a BSc(Hons) in Psychology with Philosophy minor, an MA in Critical Social Psychology and she recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Health and Social Policy.

Inequalities
Peter Baker
Peter Baker has worked for the Men's Health Forum since 2000 and is now its first Director. He was deputy editor of the Men's Health Journal from 2001-2003 and launch editor of the men's health website malehealth.co.uk. Previously a journalist specialising in men's health, Peter was health editor of Maxim magazine from 1995-1999 and is the author of Real Health for Men (Vega, 2002) and co-author of The MANual: The complete man's guide to life (Thorsons, 1996). He has also contributed to several academic books and journals on men's issues. Peter worked in local government as a housing officer in the mid-80s and, from 1987-1992, as a research officer in social policy at the London Research Centre. The Men's Health Forum is a charity whose mission is to provide an independent and authoritative voice for male health and to tackle the issues affecting the health and well-being of boys and men in England and Wales.

Ali Orhan
Ali is the Community Involvement Manager, African Caribbean Project, at The Prostate Cancer Charity. He is a trained nurse, has a BSc (honours) Sociology Applied Social Studies with C.Q.S.W (Certificate of Qualification in Social Work) and a certificate of Training and Development. As a qualified social work er, trained nurse and an experienced diversity trainer, Ali work s to heighten awareness of issues facing socially excluded and stigmatised communities. Ali has been instrumental in setting up and providing front line services for a number of Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in terms of health promotion and health care. Ali has work ed at the Prostate Cancer Charity for 8 months in the post of Community Involvement Manager (African Caribbean Communities). He is responsible for prostate cancer awareness raising programmes for members of African Caribbean communities. He has established a number of advisory groups in various regions throughout the UK ( Bristol, Leeds, Bradford, Liverpool and Birmingham ) who are helping to change views, attitudes and opinions surrounding Prostate Cancer within the African Caribbean communities. This has helped Ali to identify and provide culturally appropriate and culturally sensitive information and support. Furthermore recognising the need that BME Communities needed more black role models to advance the cause, Ali has identified several high profile celebrities to put their names to the issues.

Dr Chris Hiley
Chris Hiley is our Head of Policy and Research. She's worked at the Charity since 2000 and is a registered nurse with an academic background in human evolution, social medicine and science communication. Her particular perspective on prostate cancer means that she is particularly interested in how prostate cancer affects populations. Her work responsibility include responding to government consultations, drafting Charity policy and commissioning small pieces of research e.g. a support and information needs study for men over the age of 75 at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Local Support, National Action
William Davis
William Davis is Branch Development Manager at the MS Society. The MS Society is committed to ensuring that by the end of 2004, every one of their branches in the country is providing a series of basic services to agreed standards. These services, known as The Essentials, set out the forms of information and support that people can expect from a branch. William has played a key role in the consultation and implementation processes for these standards.

Norman Best
Norman Best has been President of the Scottish Association of Prostate Cancer Support Groups since 2002, having previously been Vice President of the Association, and Founding Chairman of the Perth and Kinross Prostate Cancer Support Group. Norman had a diagnosis of Prostate Cancer in 1998 and had a radical prostatectomy. His PSA has remained unrecordable. He is retired.

Angus Earnshaw
Angus Earnshaw is a 79 year old gay mathematics graduate who lives with prostate cancer and his partner Philip in a three story town house in Friern Barnet in North London. He spends much (too much!) of his time running two national helplines - one for gay men with any sort of cancer, the other for any sort of man with prostate cancer. In 1997, he set up Prostate Cancer Support Association, working name PSA, organised an inaugural meeting which adopted a constitution and the new charity was registered with the Charity Commission in January 1998. Angus is the current Chair of PSA. His interests include theatre, film, gardening, photography, travel, reading, writing, cooking and entertaining their friends.

Media Relations - Getting Noticed
Fiona Fox
Fiona is Head of the Science Media Centre. Previously the Senior Press Officer for the Equal Opportunities Commission, head of the media operation at the National Council for One Parent Families, and Head of Media at the UK aid agency CAFOD. She founded the Jubilee 2000 press group, helping force Third World issues onto media and political agendas and has written for newspapers, publications, policy papers and books on humanitarian aid.

Jacqui Thornton
Jacqui Thornton is Health Editor of the Sun, covering health and science news stories, writing commentaries and features on health issues and advising all other sections of the paper, such as sport, on medicine and health policy. Previously Jacqui was health correspondent of the Sunday Telegraph, where she worked for four years. A journalist for 15 years, she has also worked on the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Express, after studying Modern History at Oxford University.

Matthew Hill
Matthew joined the BBC in 1988 as a district reporter in Kings Lynn for Radio Norfolk. His career took him via Radio Leicester to Slough, where he set up a district office for Radio Berkshire. He was broadcast journalist for two years at BBC Spotlight in Plymouth and in 1995, he became Health Correspondent for the West of England. Within a month of his appointment, he broke one of the biggest medical stories of the 20th Century - the Bristol heart babies scandal. Since then he has reported as health correspondent regularly for Newsnight, reported on Panorama, and is currently working on a File on 4 programme. Matthew has a wide range of news 'scoops' to his name. He reported on the very first case of the Bristol organ retention scandal (1996) and the racists organ scandal, which led to the resignation of the chief executive of the United Kingdom Transplant Authority. In 2001, his story about the sale of a second hand computer by Bristol University Law Department, which contained the names of paedophiles and their victims, led to a police and university inquiry.

Christine Doyle
Christine Doyle has been a health journalist for more than 25 years - "after that you stop counting." Her first national newspaper job was with The Observer during which time she became a founder member of the Medical Journalists' Association - she later became chairman. Following four years living in Washington DC - her husband Robert Chesshyre was the Observer's Washington correspondent - she joined The Daily Telegraph in the mid 1980s. This was the beginning of the era of the Health Page -soon to be pages - in almost every newspaper. She has covered more diseases, campaigns and health issues than she can remember, and in 1998 won the Specialist journalist category of the UK Press Gazette awards.

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