Page 23 - Inspire

We’ve witnessed astonishing advances in recent years, and for those whose lung cancer
is detected at an early stage, there is the chance of treatment with curative intent.

Yet some people simply don’t take up these opportunities, which may seem baffling at
first sight. It’s a puzzle Dr Emma O’Dowd is keen to solve.

“Our project is called the DECLINE project,” explains Emma, “and it came from looking
at patients in our own NHS Trust here in Nottingham who were suitable for curative-intent
treatment, but said no.

We’re desperate to offer curative treatment to people who can have it and so the
project aims to see if there is something we can do to try to make that easier or to
break down barriers.

Is it that they’re scared? Is it a practical issue, like transport, that we could look at?
Treatment is given in centres, often in our big towns and cities, and sometimes patients
have to travel maybe 60 miles to that centre. So, the cost or just the practicalities of
getting around may be a problem. We can look at ways to mitigate that.

The best way to do this is to go out and talk to people, find out what the reasons are,
what the different barriers are, and what they think about treatment. Then we can look at
addressing these hurdles and hopefully see more people taking the option of a cure.”

Dr O’Dowd was the charity’s first appointed research fellow back in 2013. The DECLINE
project is now her first project as the lead researcher and she is working with our latest
research fellow, Dr Helen Morgan.

“It feels like I’ve come full circle,” Emma reflects. “My life as a researcher started when I
was granted the charity’s research fellowship. Now here I am, leading on my first project
and co-supervising the latest fellow.

“Helen is doing a fantastic job and I’m enjoying being able to help her and hopefully provide
some support as someone who’s been through the same process fairly recently myself.”

Dr Helen Morgan shares Emma’s enthusiasm:

“Not everyone gets the opportunity to work in research, so I’m excited for my fellowship,
and to be a part of the DECLINE project. I’ve always had an interest in lung cancer and
believe this research can make a real difference to people diagnosed with the disease.

We know from the National Lung Cancer Audit that up to a third of patients who have
early-stage lung cancer don’t have the curative treatments that we could offer.

By speaking to individuals, to people from different areas with different backgrounds, and
finding out what their barriers are, we can come up with ways to stop those barriers being
an issue for other patients in the future.”

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation has always supported research aimed at improving
how lung cancer patients experience their journey from diagnosis through care and
treatment. It is our hope that this project could pave the way for more people to have
vital treatment earlier and to greater effect.