Candlelighters are investing £2.2 million in research fellowships over 6 years. Meet Dr Menie, who is currently carrying out research and also working as an on-call doctor for the families.

Can you explain your role to me?

The main part of my role is a Candlelighters-funded research fellowship, where I am focussing on infections in patients with blood cancers. Our children really do suffer from a lot of infections. As a result, it’s really important for us to find out who is more susceptible so we can stratify treatment.  I also work as an on-call doctor, covering out-of-hours so that there is always a doctor who knows the children.

In what way does your role supports families facing children’s cancer?

Being on-call helps massively. The families get to know me, and they get to see me a lot. Through research, I am able to make a difference to the future of children’s cancer- a lot of families have been interested in what we’re doing and I’ve been chatting to a few about what I’m looking at. I think a lot of families, when they hear that a doctor is doing research, they have more faith in our establishment because we do more.

This December, what will you be doing around the Christmas period?

This Christmas I will have received a lot of extra notes, so I can look through patient records and extract extra data that we need to move on with the project. Ultimately, I am hoping to make a difference to the future of children’s cancer through research. The fellows will also be on-call across the Christmas period – being there for our patients is the most important part of our role! We are there to ensure emergencies are dealt with within acceptable time frames, all thanks to Candlelighters.

What impact do you think Candlelighters makes on how your role helps families?

I think it’s really important that a charity is funding so much in research, and I’m very grateful because I wouldn’t have that opportunity if it wasn’t for Candlelighters. I really want the families to know that Candlelighters don’t just support them in their journey, but also provide money for research which helps future patients and generally fighting against children’s cancer.

Can you fundraise to help us continue funding key research such as Dr Menie’s? Get your fundraising pack here. We’d love to hear about your ideas so please do get in touch with the Fundraising Team on 0113 322 9283.