Grateful for the chance to share my journey of blending lived experience with research, and my reflections on trying to do impactful research as an early career researcher. Huge thanks to The Psychologist
@psychmag
for the platform!
When my mum died of an illness I had never heard of, I set myself a goal of becoming an expert in it. As of yesterday, I officially achieved that goal 🥹
#PhDone
Can't believe I get to say this but today I successfully defended my PhD 🎉
Thank you to my supervisors
@lgrahamwisener
and prof Martin Dempster for everything.
And my examiners
@OlindaSantin
and Dr Anna Wikman for the surprise of my life today 🥹
I am officially
#phdone
👩🎓
8 years today since I lost my favourite person to oesophageal cancer. And in 2 days time I defend my thesis on living and dying with the disease. I hope she knows ❤️
My children turned 6 today. 6 years ago I put my career on hold to focus on being a mum of twins. I didn’t think I’d ever get back on track but now I’m doing a PhD and my kids are the kindest, funniest, happiest kids I could ask for 🥰 funny how life works out
#academicmums
Whilst it always feel strange openly sharing my life with the world, I do it because
#oesophagealcancer
isn't talked about enough. If we had known about it earlier, things might have been different for my mum. Raising awareness is key. Thank you
@QUBelfast
for sharing my story ❤️
“When my mum died of an illness I’d never heard of, I set myself a goal of becoming an expert in it. In December, I officially achieved that goal.
“My mum was one of my favourite people in the world. She was my go-to person for everything.
“When she was diagnosed with…
Delighted to have received the runner up award for best oral presentation at the
@NIBPS
conference. Really enjoyed presenting my research on the experiences of living and dying with advanced oesophago-gastric cancer. Thanks to all involved 🙏
Can’t help but feel like I’m continually hearing the negative aspects of PhD life via
#AcademicChatter
. Last month I was told someone “walked away because they value their children.” As a parent that’s not what you want to hear. Anyone want to offer their fav aspects?
#phdchat
People keep asking.. so this was my mum. I'm sure you'll all agree she was beautiful but more than that, she was a force of nature. I can only hope to be half the woman she was. She is so missed every day ❤️
Great being at my first in person conference since 2019! Looking forward to hearing about what’s going on in the Upper GI space whilst representing
@OGCancerNI
#UGI2021
@Augishealth
"Until we have the research we can’t change things, I just want to improve patients and carers lives in the future so people have a better experience than we did"
In two weeks time my preemie babies will be 9. There are no words for how proud I am of them and for how grateful I am to the NICU staff at
@setrust
for all the care they got in their first weeks of life
#WorldPrematurityDay2022
@Prof_AmyBrown
👏👏👏 I was 23, pregnant with twins. Postponed my masters and was told by multiple people that I’d thrown away my career. This week I found out I’ll be starting my PhD in September. Maybe a little more postponed (now 29), but I got to raise two humans in between 💪
The last few days have been unexpectedly crazy. Thank you all for the loveliest messages. I'm overwhelmingly grateful.
I will eventually reply but for now:
If you suffer from any of these symptoms for 3 weeks or more you should seek medical advice. More info from
@ogcancerni
Meet CRIISP Researcher
@CaraGhiglieri
based at Aberdeen. Her focus in CRIISP explores social factors associated with pain. She has experience of mixed-methods research in healthcare settings with focus on psychosocial adjustment to cancer and chronic illness.
#chronicpainresearch
As part of my PhD, I am recruiting people (aged 18+) who have been affected by advanced oesophago-gastric cancer, living in Northern Ireland, to join our Patient and Carer Advisory Group. To find out more about what this means, go to . Please Share!
The 21st Annual IAPC Education and Research Seminar is finally here and about to commence. We have some excellent speakers and oral and poster presentations lined up
#palcaresem22
On
#WorldCancerDay
I remember my beautiful mum ❤️
A day to remember the importance of raising awareness and investing in research. Forever grateful to our NHS & third sector who provide support to those in need despite being overstretched and underfunded 🙏
#worldcancerday2022
Our Epi team continues to grow as we welcome
@CaraGhiglieri
to the group, who will be working with us on the
#CRIISP
and Making it Work - Scotland studies. Read more here:
❗️Healthcare professionals who provide care and support to patients with advanced oesophago-gastric cancer in the UK ❗️We need you to take part in a short survey exploring the barriers to addressing their unmet palliative care needs. Please RT.
Have you been affected by advanced oesophageal or stomach cancer, as a patient or carer?
If so, researchers at Queen’s University Belfast would like to interview you about the experiences and challenges you have faced.
For more information, please contact Cduggan07
@qub
.ac.uk
Another successful and packed wellbeing event on Saturday. So proud to be a part of
@OGCancerNI
and to see how far we've come over the years in supporting patients with oesophago-gastric cancer and their carers. Massive thanks to
@halifaxfni
for supporting the event.
Listening to my own voice whilst transcribing interviews is honestly the most painful part of this whole PhD. I am living in a constant state of cringe 🙈 advice ?!
#AcademicChatter
#phdchat
#phdlife
I've had a fantastic response to this so far, especially from bereaved carers. I am also keen to speak to current patients and carers. Approaching this from all angles will give us the best chance of showcasing the realities of the illness experience. Please consider RT-ing
Have you been affected by advanced oesophageal or stomach cancer, as a patient or carer?
If so, researchers at Queen’s University Belfast would like to interview you about the experiences and challenges you have faced.
For more information, please contact Cduggan07
@qub
.ac.uk
Thoroughly enjoyed organising yesterday’s NIBPS postgrad workshop with
@NatashaDalton_
. Lots of engaging and innovative discussion. Big thanks to all speakers and delegates and to
@GWShorter
for chairing and coaching us through our first workshop 🙏 may there be many more to come
Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with advanced oesophageal or stomach cancer? If so, I would love to speak to you about your experiences as part of my research looking at quality of life in patients and carers. Please email cduggan07
@qub
.ac.uk
89 days after the last bout in my household, my kids have once again brought it home from school 😫 after a week of homeschooling last week due to hand foot and mouth.. I’m facing another 10 days.
#sendhelp
(in the form of caffeine and / or something stronger)
Last night we launched the “Catch It Early” campaign for oesophageal and gastric cancer awareness. I am so incredibly proud of everything
@OGCancerNI
has achieved in recent years and the difference they have made to so many lives. This campaign is going to go far 💫
@TNLComFund
Another successful event draws to a close. Thanks to all our
#CMHW24
presenters and attendees for making such a fantastic event, and looking forward to what the future holds!
Over 82,000 people in NI have been bereaved during the COVID pandemic. Palliative care demand is rising. Yet the draft Programme for Government doesn't say a single word about end of life care.
Sign our petition & help dying people get the care they need
Looking forward to hearing about the progress that’s been made towards a comprehensive cancer strategy in Northern Ireland. Great to see how the patients perspective has been so vital to it’s development. Keen to hear what’s happening in the area of PEOLC 🤞
#nicancerstrategy
*New research*- I was involved in this research as a PPI representative and whilst I'm pleased the report has been published, as someone whose mum suffered and died out of hours, I am appalled that this is still happening. We need to do better. Full report
Nothing like a huge vet bill to remind you
of the value of the NHS. A scary glimpse into private medical care. A very intense touch-and-go 2 weeks but she's home ❤️
Welcome to
@CaraGhiglieri
who joins us today as a Research Fellow to work on
@CMSKHealthWork
&
@CRIISPAPDP
projects. And now we have staff from all 4 nations of the UK in our group ! 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧
There is still time to register for the
@NIBPS
conference taking place today and tomorrow! A very impressive line up of keynotes and guest speakers. If you are attending, consider dropping into our postgraduate workshop at 1.30pm today.
@NatashaDalton_
@GWShorter
This Saturday : a great event for oesophageal and gastric cancer patients & carers. The focus of this meeting is Quality of Life - hugely important. Get in touch if interested!
Carers Leave Act is now in force and requires all employers in Scotland to provide carers leave to members of staff with caring responsibilities.
Find out more about this legislation and how it affects your organisation here:
Delighted that Dr Mainie has announced the roll-out of ESD at Belfast City Hospital - a new surgical procedure for the treatment of patients with early stomach, oesophageal and colorectal tumours.
Everyone who supported us made this happen.
Thank you.
Really enjoyed being involved in this fantastic paper exploring music therapy for supporting informal carers of adults with life-threatening illness pre- and post-bereavement 🙏
Open access here:
And that’s a wrap for another successful
@JBIEBHC
systematic review training week ✅ Great participants & conversations. Look forward to hearing how your
#SR
goes
All too familiar and I still feel lingering resentment 8 years on. Grateful to have had the opportunity to work with people who are committed and willing to have sensible conversations about supporting people to "die well"
As someone who has experienced both of her parents die young, the thought of receiving the news over the phone is heartbreaking. So many challenging calls are going to be made in these surreal times. Relatives will remember your words. This is brilliant...clear and compassionate
Useful guide to help staff with difficult conversations over the phone and dealing with uncertainty. Thank you to our wonderful palliative care team for developing it.
#proudtocare
@ChelwestEIC
@WestMidHospital
“If your doc told you there was a drug you could take that would reduce your risk of cancer then you’d probably take it... so why aren’t we listening to the research that suggests that lifestyle changes can prevent 1/3 of cancers.” - Interesting stats from Prof Annie Anderson
🔴 Only six healthy children with no underlying health conditions died as a direct result of catching the coronavirus during a 12-month window, NHS analysis has revealed
Join us for the Annual Psychology PhD Conference 2020. Gain insight into research being conducted by current
@QUBPsych
PhD students and hear from fantastic guest speakers
@FrederickToates
@GWShorter
and
@ProfessorIsIn
. Register today, it's free!
Reminder that
@NatashaDalton_
and I have organised a postgraduate workshop looking at flexibility in psychological research, taking place this Thursday during the
@NIBPS
2021 Annual Conference. Still time to sign up. Read more below:
@QUBPsych
@DrJonesL
@AcademicChatter
5 years ago my mum was diagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer. I decided then that I would dedicate myself to a career in cancer research. Today I started my PhD in improving psych outcomes for oesophageal cancer patients. Turning those goals into reality 😊
❗️Healthcare professionals who provide care and support to patients with advanced oesophago-gastric cancer in the UK ❗️We need you to take part in a short survey exploring the barriers to addressing their unmet palliative care needs. Please RT.
@chloebeesblog
@Paul45332895
Sending you and your family all my love Chloe. I’m so sorry to read this. He is and always will be so proud of you. You’re in my thoughts and please reach out if you need anything x
Powerful production by Beyond The Label about the impact of a cancer diagnosis and the experiences of young people before, during and after their diagnosis.
"I misunderstood what palliative care was, I thought that was stopping treatment, doing nothing..."
Sacha's son died after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. She spoke to us about the Alfie Evans case and the battle parents face when they're told their child can't be cured.
The Northern Ireland BPS are delighted to announce their 2021 Annual Conference ‘The Psychology of Wellbeing in Covid Times’ which will take place online on 15 & 16 April 2021.
For more information about the event and submissions visit:
@apocalypse_earl
@AcademicChatter
I totally get that it’s an escape / outlet for so many but it’s great to hear the good sides too. I love that I’ve been offered the opportunity to further research into something that is so important to me ☺️
@michelemulqueen
Oh no way, I couldn’t do it. Pre-recording a presentation for a conference was bad enough.. I had to leave the room for my presentation and come back for the q&a 🙈
@MafaldaFarelo
@AcademicChatter
@mothersinsci
Thank you!! This sounds like a great resource! I have no doubt that it will challenge me. I’m expecting hard work, but it’s nice to hear the positive sides too ☺️
Over 9,700 people in NI want end of life care & bereavement support included in our Programme for Government & have signed our petition. Will you help get us to 10,000 signatures & help everyone who needs the care now & in the future? Plse sign up 👇
@DrEmmaJWalker
If you survived the PhD then twins will be a doddle 😂 having twins is amazing. After the newborn phase I think having two makes life easier. A live-in best friend 🥰