News archive 2010

Partnership with The Prostate Cancer Charity

31 Aug 2010, PR 183/10

Men with prostate cancer who experience fatigue as a result of treatment for prostate cancer will soon be given greater support to help them cope as a result of a government grant awarded to King’s College London and The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Fatigue can be a common side effect of cancer treatment. In fact, research from the Charity shows that 70 per cent of men on hormone therapy, a common treatment for the disease, experience a level of fatigue which has a severe impact on their quality of life.

The Knowledge Transfer Partnership grant will allow the Charity to establish a specialist telephone support service to help men and their families affected by prostate cancer to cope with fatigue. Callers to The Prostate Cancer Charity’s Helpline who report experiencing problems with exhaustion or tiredness will be offered the new service, delivered by a dedicated specialist nurse who has been trained by experts at King’s. They will provide a programme of information and guidance sessions by telephone to help men combat fatigue.

Overseeing the project from the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery at King’s will be Professor Emma Ream and Dr Jo Armes and their internationally acclaimed research team, who will use their academic knowledge of cancer related fatigue to advise the Charity. 

Impact of tiredness and fatigue

Professor Ream explains: ‘We have spent many years looking at the impact that tiredness and fatigue can have on people receiving treatment for cancer and The Knowledge Transfer Partnership is a fantastic way for us to share what we know with others working directly with those affected. We have worked with The Prostate Cancer Charity on a number of smaller research projects in the past and we are looking forward to being able to work with them on a much larger project, which will have benefit to men and their families affected by prostate cancer.’

Following the two-year grant, the Charity aims to become a lead organisation in adopting this intervention technique and results of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership will be shared with other cancer charities and NHS to benefit other cancer patients.

The Prostate Cancer Charity's Head of Services, Sarah Porch, said: ‘We are thrilled to be entering this partnership with King's College London. We know from our own research that men with prostate cancer report fatigue and that it has a profound and severe impact on their lives. It is vital that we are equipped with the knowledge and skills to help them with such a debilitating side effect. Through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership we will be able to put into practice the expertise of those at King’s to ensure that men experiencing fatigue are offered an effective intervention to improve their quality of life. We eagerly await the results of the partnership and look forward to working closely with some of the leading academics in this field.’



Notes to editors

This partnership received financial support from the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme (KTP). KTP is a partnership between charities or businesses and academic institutions which enables the partner to access the skills and expertise of the UK Knowledge Base. KTP is funded by the Technology Strategy Board along with other government funding organisations.

The KTP project, will establish a telephone mentoring service, operated by specialist nurses.


This partnership was brokered by King’s Business who provide support to academics in formulating a proposal and application. Academics interested in KTPs should contact Anna Thornton, anna.thornton@kcl.ac.uk

The Prostate Cancer Charity
For further information contact: Vivienne Francis, Nikki Nagler or Claire Blackburn on 0208 222 7136/7670/7687. Out of hours contact: 0798 432 5001. Email: Vivienne.Francis@prostate-cancer.org.uk or mailto:Nicola.Nagler@prostate-cancer.org.uk or Claire.Blackburn@prostate-cancer.org.uk

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the UK. Every year in the UK 36,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer. One man dies every hour of prostate cancer in the UK.

African Caribbean men are three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than white men.

The Prostate Cancer Charity is striving for a world where lives are no longer limited by prostate cancer. The Charity is fighting prostate cancer on every front - through research, support, information and campaigning.

If you have any queries about prostate cancer, call The Prostate Cancer Charity's confidential Helpline 0800 074 8383 which is staffed by specialist nurses and open from 10.00  to 16.00 Monday to Friday and Wednesdays from 19.00 – 21.00 or visit www.prostate-cancer.org.uk


King's College London
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2009) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has nearly 23,000 students (of whom more than 8,600 are graduate students) from nearly 140 countries, and some 5,500 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.



Further information
Public Relations Department
Email: pr@kcl.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7848 3202

Next:
King’s business plan competition launched
Honorary Fellow wins Nobel Literature Prize
King's contributes to WHO Intervention Guidelines
Nightingale app previewed
Free radicals shown to protect the heart

Previous:
Intervention lowers teenage drinking rates
King’s Health Partners appointment
Clinical trial findings challenge clinical practice
Chairman of Marjan Centre appointed
Second Wellcome Drug Discovery award success


This information is provided by the Public Relations Department
Tel: 020-7848 3202  Fax: 020-7848 3739  Email: pr@kcl.ac.uk