• 10:30am – 10:50am - Arrival, registration and refreshments

• 10:50am – 11:10am - Welcome, housekeeping and About Ovacome

• 11:10am – 11:55am - Dr Asima Mukhopadhyay, Updates in ovarian cancer

• 11:55am - 12:10pm - Short break 

• 12:10pm-12:40pm – Emma Quinn, Dr Angela Long and Professor Darren Flynn, Putting Patients at the Centre: ​Empowered Choices in Ovarian Cancer

• 12:40 - 1:10pm - Laura Cheetham, Treatments collected from your pharmacy

• 1:10pm – 2:10pm - Lunch

• 2:10pm – 2:55pm  - Jane Smith, Scar therapy 

• 2:55pm-3:55pm - Anna Baker, The importance of exercise during a cancer journey" 

• 4:00pm - Goodbyes

• Dr Asima Mukhopadhyay is a Gynaecological Oncologist at James Cook University Hospital, and clinician scientist at Newcastle University. Dr Mukhopadhyay also works in India at the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata and is Founder & Director of the Kolkata Gynaecological Oncology Trials and Translational Research Group.

• Dr Anna Baker holds a PhD in biochemistry, with specialist research experience in lung cancer. Her work in cancer is both professional and deeply personal, shaped by the loss of her partner, Gary, to pancreatic cancer. Drawing on many years of teaching and her cancer rehabilitation qualifications, Anna now works in cancer rehab, supporting people living with and beyond cancer to rebuild strength, confidence, and trust in their bodies. Her approach blends scientific understanding, compassion, and lived experience, with a strong belief in movement as a powerful tool for recovery and resilience. 

• Emma Quinn is a PhD candidate at Northumbria University, developing a patient decision aid for ovarian cancer; co-designed with people impacted by the condition to ensure treatment decisions reflect what matters most to them. Emma is also a Registered Adult Nurse, charity Trustee and passionate advocate for patient-centred care.

• Dr Angela Long is a Research Fellow at Northumbria University working on the NIHR-funded IMPRESS 2 programme, which aims to improve decision-making and outcomes for ovarian cancer patients in the UK. As part of this work, Angela leads the development of an evidence- and theory-based training programme to help clinicians engage women with ovarian cancer in shared decision-making. Angela is also a trainee Health Psychologist and specialises in applied healthcare research. 

• Darren Flynn is a Professor of Applied Health and Social Care and a Chartered Health Psychologist at Northumbria University. He has dedicated over 20 years to developing approaches to healthcare that place people living with health conditions (and their families) at the centre of their treatment and care. These approaches can empower people to make decisions in collaboration with healthcare professionals to identify the best treatment option(s) for them, which reflects their priorities, preferences and values.

• Jane Smith began as a Professional Massage Therapist in 2002, with extensive training at the prestigious Academy of Natural Health in London’s Covent Garden. Since returning to her native North-East in 2005, she has had her own highly successful practice delivering holistic massage and bodywork therapy. In recent years she has refocused and enhanced her practice in the growing field of scar therapy, following expert training with Emma Holly’s Restore Scar Tissue Management. Jane offers professional and compassionate scar therapy for a wide range of clients, tailored to individual needs, following surgery, traumatic injury and illnesses. Janes recognises the importance of both the physical and emotional aspects that new and old scars can have on an individual’s well-being and will help clients navigate through their own journey of recovery.

We are really looking forward to welcoming you. Please register using the button at the top of this page and you will receive further information by email closer to the date. 

Once you have registered, if you can no longer attend this event please do let us know so we can offer your space to others who would like to attend.

If you have any questions about the event, please contact events@ovacome.org.uk or call 020 7299 6654. 

The venue is County Hotel, Neville Street, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, NE1 5DF

If you require support to attend one of our in-person events, please let us know when you sign up. We always ensure the venues we use are accessible for anyone with disabilities.

Some examples of support we can give include:

• Translators including BSL. We usually require around three weeks advanced notice to allow for booking.
• Receiving slides or information ahead of the session
• Reserve a seat close to the speakers
• Travel assistance - we can help you with planning your travel to our event, and where possible arrange for a member of the team to accompany you on your journey to the event if you need assistance.
• Financial assistance – we want to ensure that Ovacome members can access the events they want to without worrying about the associated costs. For example, we can help cover the price of transport to attend an in-person event and contribute to accommodation expenses if staying away from home to join an Ovacome event. You may feel tired after attending an event.  we can arrange accommodation in advance for you so that you can rest before travelling home. Friends and family are included if they are accompanying a person with an ovarian diagnosis to our events, or if they have access needs themselves.