CBE for CanTest Director


CanTest Director of Research, Professor Willie Hamilton, has been awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours for services to Improving Early Cancer Diagnosis.

Professor Willie Hamilton, of the University of Exeter Medical School, says his profound deafness created the space in a busy career as a GP to focus on his research. He recently made headlines when he regained his hearing, thanks to a successful cochlear implant.

On being recongnised in this year’s Honours List, Professor Hamilton said:

“This CBE recognises the whole team. I’m absolutely thrilled to bits. Now we’re full steam ahead into 2019. Our country’s cancer survival rates are getting better but that’s not enough. We want to be leading the way.”

The CBE comes at a time when Professor Hamilton is managing over £15 million in research projects, including the CRUK funded CanTest Collaborative, all with the aim of getting the right cancer tests to the right patient at the right time. That means more accurate and potentially earlier and life-saving treatment for those who need it.

This work builds on tools Prof Hamilton and his team have developed for all the major cancers, which help doctors assess the chance of an underlying cancer attached to complex combinations of symptoms far more easily.

“In the last decade, we’ve seen the number of people being tested for possible cancer increase considerably – and we know earlier diagnosis saves lives. That does mean that the NHS has had to invest millions in both the financial cost of testing and in having the staff to do the tests and to treat people but the pay-off is enormous. The UK has historically lagged well behind the rest of Europe on cancer survival but we’re starting to turn that around and it’s truly gratifying to be part of that.”

You can read more about Professor Hamilton’s research journey on the University of Exeter news pages.

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