Biography

Following her graduation with a BSc in Adult Nursing (in 2000), Rachel spent 5 years specialising in HIV patient care, completing a parallel MSc in Healthcare Research. She progressed to a Clinical Nurse Specialist after gaining extensive cancer patient care experience gathered across the various stages of the oncology patient pathway.

Rachel joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in 2009 and was awarded funding by Mesothelioma UK to be a nominated Mesothelioma Clinical Nurse Specialist. She is a nurse prescriber and a NLCFN committee member, which has enabled her to advocate for patients on a national and international stage, and also sit as the nurse representative for the British Thoracic Society.

Rachel mentors Clinical Nurse Specialists to set up and manage tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) nurse-led UK clinics. She runs the only Mesothelioma Support Group for patients and carers in London and works with Mesothelioma UK to raise awareness for mesothelioma across London, Kent and Brighton.

Rachel regularly presents on the role of Immuno-oncology and the treatment impact on patient prognosis and outcomes. She has written several articles surrounding nurse management of patients treated with immuno-oncology, taking part in advocacy for equality of access and nursing care in the UK.

Biography

Following a career in thoracic medicine, Vanessa Beattie joined the Lung Cancer Team at Aintree University Hospital, Liverpool, as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in 1999. Her interests in lung cancer and mesothelioma include improving the patient and carer experience throughout the pathway. She is interested in the development of nurse-led services, pre-/post-habilitation and survivorship issues.

She is an active member of the Northwest Lung Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) group. She has given invited presentations, both nationally and internationally, on various aspects of lung cancer, including wellbeing, holistic needs and surgical pathway. She has previously held the positions of Thoracic Surgical Group Chair and British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG) Steering committee member. She is a current member of BTOG, International Thoracic Oncology Nursing Forum (ITONF) and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), sitting on the Lung Cancer Awareness Month (LCAM) Coalition steering committee. She is also a National Lung Cancer Forum for Nurses (NLCFN) committee member, currently serving as Chair for the forum.