British Gynaecological Cancer Society 2023 | Updates from our Head of Policy and Research

Every year the British Gynaecological Cancer Society [BGCS] hold their annual meeting to share updates in Gynaecological cancer across the UK. Our Head of Research and Policy, Marie-Claire Platt, travelled up to Aberdeen to share the first results of our IMPROVE UK programme, meet old connections and new, and learn what is new in ovarian cancer treatment.

“Every year I look forward to BGCS conference. It’s a chance for me to reconnect with all the amazing clinicians and surgeons from all around the UK who are treating ovarian cancer patients, and find out what’s new or on the horizon in the treatment and care of ovarian cancer. It’s two days with all the best experts gathered together, and a great opportunity to bring patient views into the heart of any discussion.   

After the results of the Ovarian Cancer Audit Feasibility Pilot were published a few years ago, inequality is firmly on the agenda this year, and we were thrilled to showcase the first results from our IMPROVE UK pilots in a dedicated session about Quality Improvement in ovarian cancer. 

It was a proud moment to see each Pilot presenting what they’ve learned with healthcare professionals from all around the UK. There was so much excitement for what the first pilots have achieved, and it is great to see teams from around the country starting to think about how they can apply some of their learnings into their own Centres.

The conference this year is in Aberdeen, which was also the location of our first Scottish IMPROVE UK pilot. 

It is so important that these conferences aren’t just held in big cities like London, Manchester or Birmingham so that everyone can benefit. Inequality is often hardest to solve in more rural areas where patients come from much further distances to have treatment – Aberdeen is a great example of this where patients travel from all over the north of Scotland from the top of the Shetland Islands in the North, to the Western Isles, and down to Dundee. 

This conference is especially important for connecting doctors working around the UK in these more isolated Centres so that they can share and learn from each other.

Coming away from the conference it is clear that there is so much ambition from healthcare professionals – Clinicians, Surgeons, Nurses and others – to tackle inequality and improve survival rates for their patients. 

Ovarian Cancer Action has such an important role to play in connecting teams across regional divides, sharing learning and championing best practice in the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer – so we’ll be very busy over the next 12 months doing just that! 

You can find out more about the ways in which Ovarian Cancer Action are tackling inequalities across all four parts of the UK with IMPROVE UK.