Nothing prepares you for being told you have cancer. I've experienced first-hand in my own family the trauma that a cancer diagnosis, and treatment, causes to patients and the people close to them.

When patients are anxious and vulnerable they need kindness, empathy and somebody to listen and answer their questions, but above all, an experienced oncologist with good clinical judgement able to provide the best treatment.

My goal is to meet these needs and to be approachable and available for advice and support.

I qualified at The London Hospital Medical College in 1991. Four years later I entered oncology, training at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, The Middlesex and St. Bartholomew's Hospitals before becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists in 1998.

I interrupted my training to complete a Research Fellowship at Cancer Research UK's Gray Laboratory then broadened my experience with a spell as Consultant Radiation Oncologist in Christchurch, New Zealand.

In March 2004, I was appointed Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Kent Oncology Centre, Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

As Trustee of local charity Breast Cancer Kent, I have been closely involved in fund-raising to provide state-of-the-art equipment for the Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells Breast Care Centres.

I work with Macmillan and Breast Cancer Now, supporting these great charities providing support and information for patients.

I believe it is important to promote secondary breast cancer initiatives and my efforts in this arena have met with strong approval from professionals and patients.

As well as running a busy clinical practice treating breast and lung cancers, I have a special interest in providing patient-friendly information for patients, developing the innovative Breast Radiotherapy Information film, which was followed in 2014 by a film on chemotherapy. This is now used widely to educate patients in Kent and endorsed by the UK Chemotherapy Partnership.

More recently I designed and launched the Breast Cancer Kent patient information smartphone App with the team from Patient Journey App, the first for breast cancer in the UK. It has received excellent reviews and was nominated as finalist in the Macmillan Professional Excellence Innovation Awards, 2021.

I was appointed Clinical Director of Breast Oncology at GenesisCare in 2021.

I contribute to the Kent Oncology Centre programme of clinical audit and research, have publications in peer-reviewed medical journals, and have delivered presentations at national breast and lung cancer meetings.

Special interests

• Breast cancer
• Secondary breast cancer
• Lung cancer radiotherapy, including SABR

• MD University of London 2009
• FRCR Royal College of Radiologists 1998
• MB BS The London Hospital Medical College 1991
• MRCP Royal College of Physicians 1994
• BSc Hons (Biochemisty) University of London 1988