A new series profiling at Guy’s Cancer Academy with Director Dr. Simon Hughes
Guy’s Cancer Academy posted on LinkedIn:
“Kicking off a new series profiling the team here at Guy’s Cancer Academy, we sat down with our Director, Dr Simon Hughes, to discuss cancer screening, clinical education, and charity tuk-tuk racing…
- Tell us about your career in medicine…
I trained at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and apart from a few placements at other hospitals, have been here since 1991 really. I’ve been a consultant oncologist since 2008 and look after prostate and bladder cancer, including drug treatments and radiotherapy.
On the education side, I’ve been Associate Clinical Dean for the Medical School at King’s College London, Clinical Oncology Training Programme Director for South East England, and was president of the Oncology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine.
I’m currently the Education and Training Lead for King’s Health Partners Comprehensive Cancer Centre, a trustee of the British Uro-oncology Group, and a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)‘s education council.
- What inspires you about cancer education?
The value of clinical education is underestimated. Universities and hospitals take it as a given, and they appear more interested in research output metrics. But I think you can make at least as big an impact with education. It’s ultimately through education that we train the researchers and clinicians, and also translate their research findings into clinical practice.
- What’s your favorite thing about working at the Academy?
I like that we’re part of an excellent NHS hospital trust – Guy’s and St. Thomas’s – but that as a self-sufficient entity we also have the autonomy to some degree for our unique team to use their creative talents to improve cancer care and consequently patient outcomes. So we get to make a tangible difference.
- What’s a project you’ve been involved in that has had a positive impact on cancer education or patient care?
We worked on a targeted campaign to increase workforce capacity and competency in the early diagnosis of cancer in southern India. Using clinical education, red flag signs of cancer animations, and interactive ‘virtual doctors’, we supported the safe screening of nearly 20,000 people, which led to 1,600 new cancers being diagnosed early.
- What’s your proudest professional moment?
I took part in the first ever tuk-tuk race across India – from Kochi to Darjeeling – raising money for the Evelina Hospital. At the end of the race, all 30 teams donated their vehicles to The Adventurists, who still use them to run rallies across India twice a year. This raises significant funds for local charities like cleft palate repair and sanitation projects.
- Tell us a fun fact about what you do outside of work?
I have a four-year-old son, so there’s not a lot of time to do anything else! I’ve got a Peloton, so I do a lot of cycling on the bike that goes nowhere. I’m trying to get my body mass index under 30, although I’m not very good at controlling what’s going in at the top end!”
Source: Guy’s Cancer Academy/LinkedIn
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