Engage
Engaging patients and the public
We believe in the critical importance of including and closely engaging cancer patients, and people affected by cancer, when developing solutions.
So, that’s exactly what we do. We’re driven by a desire to not only improve patient outcomes, but also the patient experience. By listening to people, we’re able to learn from their experience which helps us better align our solutions to their needs.
When we say that we put engagement with women at the centre of all our efforts, we mean it.
From the onset, we’ve worked with women to understand their concerns about the use of AI in transforming breast cancer screening services. It’s incredibly important to us that women everywhere feel safe to support, embrace and adopt the clinical and scientific credibility of our solutions.
Our patient and public engagement includes women who have experienced breast cancer and breast screening services. This invaluable insight and advice based on personal experience helps guide us in our activities. And it’s already making a difference – from the way we conduct our research to how we develop our products.
To learn more about our patient and public involvement (PPI) work, you can watch the launch of our PPI strategy here.
Kheiron’s second Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) report is the product of many months of hard work and genuine involvement, consultation and co-production with our PPI reps.
It demonstrates how much we as a company have achieved in this space and the level of value that genuine PPI can have on the work we are doing at Kheiron.
The report documents our successes as well as our challenges. We’d like to thank everyone of our our PPI representatives who played a fundamental role in the production of this.
Patient perspective
Our patient and public involvement initiative leads us in our efforts to put the voice of the patient and their loved ones at the heart of everything we do. The patient perspective on their cancer journey is profoundly moving and often insightful – as demonstrated in this video clip.
31 Wishes for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Every October, people across the world show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s a cause that’s close to our hearts. We have been honoured to share the stories of 31 people who have been affected by breast cancer. Collectively, these 31 stories convey our wish for the future of breast cancer awareness: That, working together, we can give every woman, everywhere a better fighting chance against breast cancer.
Mary Beth’s story
Mary Beth provides leadership and guidance for Kheiron’s patient and public involvement.
Following a routine breast screening, she was diagnosed with early-stage cancer in late 2019. Now, as a Stage 1 survivor, she shares her journey from diagnosis through to treatment. It’s a story that provides an emotional reminder of why, at Kheiron, we’re so committed to our work.
AI in Health and Care Awards
We’re extremely proud to have won the first round of the AI in Health and Care Award for our breast screening algorithm: Mia. The AI Award is one of the programmes of the NHS AI Lab and is run by the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Patient and public involvement plays an integral part in our work to help solve critical challenges in breast screening.
As well as drawing on the Patient Advisory Board’s knowledge, insight and experience to guide us, we’ll work alongside patients and the public at each of the NHS sites participating in the award. It means we can build on our previous research into the attitudes and beliefs of AI being used for mammography – so we can understand how best to inform, educate and reassure women.
Promoting effective self-examination
It’s important that all women learn to check their breasts accurately and frequently. Listen in as Dr. Liz O’Riordan talks through how to conduct a self-examination.
“When I was 17, my Dad was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He had no chance of curative treatment and died just 6 months later. I was still at school and I remember hating my new identity as ‘the girl whose Dad had died.’
Years later, my Mum was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. By then, I was an adult but I was still petrified that the worst would happen again. How could I not be? Thankfully, it was caught early and she was told she had a 95% chance of it never returning.
Kheiron’s mission to help radiologists detect breast cancer earlier is deeply personal to me – I know the difference that early detection can make to families like mine. I also know that cancer impacts almost everyone at some point in their lives and I am thankful that every day at work, I get the opportunity to listen to the stories of so many others. I am now proud that cancer is such a big part of my identity, and I am incredibly proud to work for Kheiron.”
ERIN
she/her
Chair of Kheiron’s Patient Advisory Board
Kheiron Medical Technologies