26 April 2023

The Director of Bowel Cancer Screening at King’s College Hospital NHS FT shares his career inspiration, and his top tips for aspiring specialists.

Tell us about your role at King’s College Hospital

I’ve been working here as a consultant gastroenterologist for the past 20 years, and I’m also the Director of Bowel Cancer Screening.

What inspired you to get into this work?

I’ve always been interested in cancer, particularly bowel cancer, in fact I did my PhD in the genetics and gene therapy of bowel cancer. I’ve always been interested in how to diagnose cancer at an early stage, but also how to manage and treat people with cancer, particularly bowel cancer.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

There are several aspects. One is actually meeting the patients, talking them through the tests, and hopefully being able to either treat the patient or, if not, diagnose them at an early stage so their treatment outcome is much better.

Secondly, the bowel cancer research area is fascinating and there are a lot of new and amazing developments, some of which I’ve been involved in. The research is transforming how we treat cancer.

What would be your career top tip?

If you are passionate about a subject then you should pursue it. Do a lot of reading about the topic and connect with people who are the experts in the area, and if possible try to work with them. It will require a lot of hard work but it’s very rewarding in the end. If you keep pursuing it, you will be successful.