We are The Christie magazine - Edition 6

Welcome

A word from our Chair

Joining The Christie as both Chair and a patient has given me a unique perspective on this remarkable organisation.

I started here in May 2025, after more than 20 years in NHS leadership. What I didn’t anticipate was experiencing the Trust from such a personal, first-hand perspective, following a diagnosis of prostate cancer just two days after being appointed.

excellent but also personal, and as easy to access as possible - something that is very much our priority. In these pages of our sixth edition, you’ll find stories that reflect these priorities, from using Minecraft to help young patients feel more prepared for treatment, to how our Future Christie programme is improving patients’ experience with easier to access information. I’m also particularly pleased to see examples of services delivering care closer to home, including our clinical haematology service at Leighton Hospital. Now that I’m back on my feet, I’m looking forward to seeing even more of our services and our visitors - continuing to listen and to learn.

As Chair, my role is to help guide the board, looking ahead while listening to our patients and staff. Spending time in waiting rooms and treatment areas gave me the chance to speak to patients and families and hear directly about what matters most to them. It also reinforced how important it is that the care we provide is not just

Professor Joe Rafferty, Chair

Contents

15 16

2 3

Around the Trust

Introduction News in brief Feature stories Staff stories Patient stories

Transforming cancer care through Future Christie Life through Kymara’s lens

4-7 8-9

17 18 19

Puzzle section Charity corner

10-13

14

You Made A Difference Awards

We’d love to hear your thoughts about this new magazine. Please send any feedback or ideas to the-christie.internalcomms@nhs.net You can also get in touch by post at: WATC Editor, The Christie, 2-4 Candleford Road, Withington, Manchester, M20 3JH 2