A LOCAL cancer charity is blazing a trail with an innovative education programme that will have a positive impact on the lives of patients throughout Britain.

Pelican Cancer Foundation, based at The Ark in Basingstoke, has launched Pelican IMPACT - Improving Management for Patients with Advanced Colorectal Tumours - with the aim of helping all patients with advanced bowel cancer to live better for longer.

Pelican IMPACT programme plans to roll out a series of 14 regional workshops across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, for bowel cancer teams (MDTs) which include a surgeon, palliative care consultant, radiologist, oncologist, pathologist, and a clinical nurse specialist.

The free one-day seminars will inform cancer specialists of the current and developing pathway options for treating the advanced stage of the disease in order to encourage the best possible treatment for every patient.

The awareness-raising sessions will include videos featuring patient case studies and the opportunity for the MDTs to discuss, with expert opinion, the multiple options for patients with advanced bowel tumours.

Pelican chief executive Sarah Crane said: “Launching Pelican IMPACT Is hugely exciting - we look forward to rolling out the programme to multidisciplinary teams across the country, and hope the result will be more streamlined referrals and better informed choice for patients.

“By improving communication and education about advanced colorectal cancer among clinicians in the UK, we can focus on the latest treatment pathways to deliver the best possible palliative specialist care for patients.

“This is Pelican's fourth national development programme for bowel cancer multi-disciplinary teams and our most ambitious yet. We want to help all patients with advanced bowel cancer as sadly bowel cancer remains the second greatest cause of cancer death in the UK.”