BCRF award and Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Professor Dame Lesley Fallowfield has been awarded $225,000 from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), the highest rated breast cancer research organisation in the US started in 1993 by Evelyn Lauder who died of metastatic breast cancer. Annual awards are given to only 260 researchers from top universities around the world to help them pursue ground-breaking innovative research. The grant will permit Dame Lesley and her team at SHORE-C to continue research which includes development of unique evidence-based communication skills programmes; these are designed to help healthcare professionals discuss the risks and benefits of genetic testing and treatment options in understandable and non-patronising ways. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month which will see Professor Fallowfield participating in a variety of media awareness and fund-raising events in the UK and US. This will start with a meeting at the Houses of Parliament and a reception in London celebrating Elizabeth Hurley, Estee Lauder Companies' Ambassador for the past 30 years who has been a great supporter and participant in SHORE-C's research. (See photo above of a visit to SHORE-C with Director Professor Lesley Fallowfield and Deputy Director Professor Val Jenkins)
News item posted 01/10/2025
We're hiring!
We are looking for a well-organised and self-motivated individual with excellent communication skills to manage all aspecs of SHORE-C's finance and administration as our new Senior Research Administrator. Further details can be found on the University of Sussex jobs page.
News item posted 22/09/2025
New video of Professor Fallowfield talking about our work
Professor Dame Lesley Fallowfield has recorded a video with the media team at BSMS explaining the work we do here at SHORE-C. You can find the video here on YouTube
News item posted 19/09/2025
Farewell Phoebe!
Today we wish our senior research administrator, Phoebe, farewell and good luck as she heads off to start a nursing course at Brighton University!
News item posted 18/09/2025
Cancer-related Fatigue Research
The SCRC (Sussex Cancer Research Centre) Fatigue Research group meets regularly to discuss research on cancer-related fatigue. This group is led by Dr Sally Wheelwright. The meetings will be held on 9 Oct, 20 Nov, 22 Jan, 19 Feb, 19 Mar and 21 May, from 10am to 11am in the JMS Building, 2B4 Kroto Room, University of Sussex campus. Cancer-Related Fatigue Research Meetings
News item posted 26/08/2025
Breast Cancer Trials 46th Annual Scientific Meeting
In July Professor Dame Lesley Fallowfield travelled to Australia to speak at the Breast Cancer Trials: 46th Annual Scientific Meeting in Hobart, Tasmania. She was the opening speaker for their scientific session with a plenary lecture on the topic "Burn out and self-care for the clinician". Throughout the event she gave two additional lectures covering "Helping healthcare workers help their patients with metastatic breast cancer" and "Communicating Risk of Recurrence: The IMPARTER Trial". At the scientific meeting she was a discussant at a Concept Development Workshop where she gave critique of some new clinical trials. In addition, she also participated in filmed Q&A sessions covering Supportive Care in Breast Cancer which were also broadcast live.
News item posted 11/08/2025
Make2ndsCount Patient Summit
Prof Dame Lesley Fallowfield had an important role in organising the recent Make2ndsCount Patient Summit in Liverpool. This unique 3-day event is held entirely for patients with metastatic breast cancer, over 100 of whom attended in person with 400 watching on-line. The summit had an innovative line up of excellent speakers providing updates on new treatments, clinical trials, genomics, and management of side-effects together with sessions on sexual well-being, nutrition and exercise. Prof Fallowfield held an 'In Conversation' session with Ashley Dalton MP , Under-secretary of State for Public Health & Prevention and Liz O'Riordan, former breast cancer surgeon and award-winning Author & Podcaster, both of whom spoke candidly about their own breast cancer diagnoses and treatment. The meeting is an inspiring, heart-warming and humbling event unlike any other conference that academics usually speak at. As those on the dance-floor after the conference dinner demonstrated, people can and do continue to live well with advanced disease.
News item posted 24/06/2025
POSNOC poster at the Association of Breast Surgery (ABS) Annual Conference
The POSNOC Study completed recruitment in July 2021 with 1900 participants randomised from the UK, Australia and New Zealand. <br/> POSNOC is now in follow-up and participants will complete SHORE-C quality of life questionnaires until July 2026. <br/> An interactive poster summarising hospitals and recruitment was presented at the ABS annual conference in Birmingham on the 19-20th May 2025.<br/> Click here to see full size poster
News item posted 04/06/2025
SHORE-C PI Chairs at the EORTC Conference
Principal Research Fellow Sally Wheelwright was invited to co-chair at the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) conference in Barcelona. This was the 6th EORTC Quality of Life in Cancer Clinical Trials conference and talks covered topics such as health related quality of life, patient-reported outcomes, and how these measurements are used in clinical cancer research. <br/> Dr Wheelwright chaired the session "Current developments in EORTC measurement tools and their use in cancer clinical research". This conference ran from the 12th to 13th May, 2025. Conference Details
News item posted 12/05/2025
TARGET Workshop Helps Clinicians Talk About Genomic Tests
SHORE-C carried out another successful workshop in Bournemouth this April! Lesley Fallowfield and Val Jenkins facilitated this workshop, which brought health professionals together to learn more about discussing genomic testing. TARGET helps clinicians identify the different types of patients and how to communicate with them about their risk levels in the context of genomic testing. By identifying anxious and non-anxious patients and how receptiveness for uncertainty informs a patients desire for treatments, we can help tailor more effective communication about risk of recurrence.
News item posted 01/05/2025
Good Luck Rachel!
Research Assistant Rachel Hunter has left the SHORE-C team to start her training at medical school! Rachel has been working with SHORE-C since April 2024 and has been instrumental on projects researching Haematological Cancer and Multiple Myeloma. We wish Rachel the best of luck with her training; she will be a fantastic doctor!
News item posted 23/04/2025
SHORE-C Attends BPOS Conference
Researchers Dr Valerie Shilling and Rachel Starkings attended the British Psychosocial Oncology Society (BPOS) 2025 Annual Conference in Manchester this march. They presented a poster on their pilot study "Navigating Angry Conversations". This pilot uses a virtual reality software developed by the Royal Society of Medicine, to help doctors and medical students identify anger signals in patients and diffuse this anger whilst remaining calm and empathetic. Their poster was very well received, and they are looking forward to continuing this research. You can read this pilot study's findings here
News item posted 03/04/2025