I am Clinical and Research Lead for the Complementary Health and Wellbeing services at The Christie, an acute cancer trust in Manchester.

My Fellowship focused on exploring the importance of touch. My aim was, and still is, to use touch as a way of supporting people overwhelmed by having to cope with a potentially life-threatening diagnosis and the complex, exhausting treatment protocols required to manage it. The main objectives of the Fellowship were to gain insight into different massage techniques and more advanced ways of evaluating touch therapies when used with immunocompromised patients, especially in relation to improving their immune function.

My Fellowship fed directly into my PhD. It has also been the cornerstone of much of my work since then, supporting patients with complex physiological or psychological needs, at all stages of their cancer treatment.

On a personal level, to have my vision validated and supported by the Fellowship was such an honour. Working with Tiffany Field and her team at the Touch Research Institutes (TRI) in Miami, USA, taught me so much and the combination has had a substantial impact on me personally and my career choices.