All of us at Saving Faces are sad to hear of the passing of supporters Ray Majors and Sandy Dillon.
Ray was a patient of Saving Faces Chief Executive, Professor Iain Hutchison and provided valuable advice through our Saving Faces Expert Patient Helpline.
You can read more about the lives of Ray and Sandy here.
The UK’s surgical research charity Saving Faces and its national research centre NFORC are proud to support Professor Jag Dhanda of the Brighton Medical School and Helen Please of the Global Anaesthesia, Surgery and Obstetric Collaboration Trainee Collaboration as they launch Virtual Reality in Medicine and Surgery.
This is a world first training over 1,400 doctors from low-and middle-income countries today and over the next 4 days in real time at Brighton Medical School and Hospital how to perform life-saving surgery using virtual reality.
The use of virtual reality will immerse the doctors in the operations and dissections of how to perform life-saving surgery in African communities which are remote from major cities and hospitals.
You can listen to our Chief Executive Professor Iain Hutchison discussing VRiMS here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSatS0yabqU
qMIDS, the world’s first rapid oral cancer test, has been developed by Queen Mary University of London and an international team of researchers. It has the potential to relieve pressure on the NHS and may improve the early detection of oral cancer.
Saving Faces has supported researchers at Queen Mary University of London who have developed the world’s first PCR test for mouth cancer. The test has now been proved with patients from China, India and the UK, with the results published in the international journal, Cancers. The inventor, Dr Muy-Teck Teh, named the test the Quantitative Malignant Index Diagnosis System (qMIDS).
qMIDS diagnostic accuracy would mean that 90% of low-risk patients could be discharged from hospital to go back to their dentist or GP for review. Or they might be tested in the dentist’s surgery and only referred to secondary care if they were high risk. High-risk cases could also be detected in the pre-cancer period and treated definitively, thereby saving the patient’s life with minor surgery, better cure rates and quality of life, as well as a huge reduction in health service costs.
The test process is largely automated, removing the need for expensive pathologists. There’s also no need for invasive biopsies. The tests can be carried out on multiple sites when patients have lesions affecting large areas throughout the mouth.
Co-study lead, Professor Iain Hutchison, stated: “qMIDS dramatically improves our management of mouth cancer and its pre-cancerous state, saving lives and healthcare costs. Surgeons and dentists anywhere in the world can use this test for minimally invasive tissue samples because all it needs is a PCR machine and the technician who operates it.
“qMIDS will help us identify patients with pre-malignancies that will never transform to cancer, so they can be reassured and discharged from hospital review. Patients with high-risk premalignancy can have minor surgery to remove the lesion before it has transformed to cancer, thereby curing the patient and saving them major surgery, which in turn reduces health service costs. It is a powerful tool especially when used in conjunction with conventional histopathology assessment.”
Read full journal article here
Read news coverage here
All of us at Saving Faces are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our Patron Roger Graef OBE.
Roger was a filmmaker, writer, criminologist and theatre director. Along with his company Films of Records, Roger made many award winning films on social issues, current affairs, science and arts. These films promoted change in areas such as youth justice, police handling of rape, urban redevelopment and family problems.
He was awarded a BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement, making him the first documentary maker to do so. In 2006 he was awarded a OBE for services for film-making and broadcasting and in 2013, BAFTA held a tribute evening to celebrate his 50th year as a filmmaker.
Roger was a long-term, generous and dedicated Patron of Saving Faces, regularly attending events such as our Carols at Christmas concerts and will be greatly missed.
You can find out more about the life and work of Roger in this clip from the Radio 4 programme Last Word.
Thank you to all our supporters and friends – old and new – who attended this year’s Christmas Carols on Wednesday 15th December 2021.
We hope everyone enjoyed the festive evening and the beautiful music provided by the Chelsea Opera Group and their Director, Lindsay Bramley.
We are very grateful to the choir and the staff at the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great for hosting the carols at their stunning church.
All of us at Saving Faces are immensely proud that Baroness Helena Kennedy QC has been named in the BBC 100 Women 2021
Baroness Kennedy is a Scottish barrister known for defending the rights of women and minorities and has practised criminal law for 40 years. She is director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, which has recently been assisting women at risk in Afghanistan.
She was principal of Mansfield College at the University of Oxford for several years and was responsible for creating the ground-breaking Bonavero Institute of Human Rights there.
Baroness Kennedy has published various books on the justice system’s impact on women and in 1997 she was made a Labour peer in the House of Lords.
“Our human rights are meaningless unless there are lawyers to argue our cases and independent judges – women as well as men – to try them.” ~ Baroness Helena Kennedy QC
Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and author, Nick Baker, has pledged to donate to Saving Faces for each sold copy of his second book, ‘The Quantum Engine’.
The urban fantasy/historical thriller follows on from his first book ‘The Stone of Madness‘ and will be released late 2021.
More info on Nick’s first book here.
Mr Geoff Chiu completed the Ironman 70.3 Bolton in an incredible time of 6hours and 37minutes – 7 minutes of his target.
We are incredibly grateful to Geoff for taking on the challenge and to his supporters for giving generously. The total amount raised so far is over £1,300.
“A great but challenging day, the weather was perfect… Thank you to all for your support and kindness” – Geoff
If you would like to help Saving Faces with raising essential funds, please visit Our Fundraising page
Geoff’s donation page – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/geoffchiu2021
Mr Geoff Chiu is taking on the IRONMAN 70.3 Bolton on September 26 2021, in aid of Saving Faces and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust Charitable Funds.
The triathlon consists of a 1.2-mile swim in Pennington Flash, a 56-mile cycle around the hills of northern Bolton, including the tough climb up to Belmont and Rivington, and a 13.1-mile half marathon finishing in Bolton Town Centre.
Geoff is a Consultant in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and looks after the faces and jaws of people in East Lancashire and Bolton.
Geoff is also currently working with Saving Faces on The National Wisdom Tooth Study.
Donations will raise essential funds for research and new equipment to enhance patient care for patients who have surgery to their face and mouth.
You can sponsor Geoff here – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/geoffchiu2021
All of us at Saving Faces are incredibly proud that Patron Jonathan Pryce has been awarded a Knighthood for services to Drama and Charity by Her Majesty the Queen.
Jonathan Pryce is known for his performances on stage and screen, recently being nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Pope Francis in the Netflix film The Two Popes. He has received many accolades including Olivier and Tony Awards and has recently won the Actor award at BAFTA Cymru.
On screen he has starred in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and Game of Thrones as The High Sparrow and on stage has appeared in Macbeth, King Leer and Glengarry Glen Ross. He will portray Prince Philip in the final two series of The Crown. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.
In response to his Knighthood he stated “After almost 50 years as an actor I am proud to think that the work and ideals that I have shared with my friends and colleagues is being honoured in this way.”
Saving Faces’ Patron Jonathan Pryce wins Actor award at BAFTA Cymru
2020 Golden Globes Best Actor nomination for Saving Faces Patron, Jonathan Pryce
Our Chief Executive, Professor Iain Hutchison, featured in episode 4 of the podcast ‘Prix Pictet: A Lens on Sustainability’ entitled Mortality.
The Prix Pictet was founded by the Pictet Group in 2008. Today the award is recognised as the world’s leading prize for photograph.
This episode of the podcast explores how photography helps us process our own mortality and remember those who are gone.
Professor Hutchison spoke to Saving Faces’ Patron Julia Hobsbawn OBE and journalist Kirsty Lang about his experiences of mortality.
You can listen to the podcast here.
An e-book also accompanied the episode which features paintings by Mark Gilbert from the Saving Faces Art Project which can be viewed below.
Prix Pictet ebook Mortality</p>