Learn more about the Topic of Cancer charity

Topic of Cancer is a totally volunteer run charity based in Guildford. It originated in 2009 when the founder, Nigel Lewis-Baker, who had prostate cancer, was referred to Professor Hardev Pandha at the University of Surrey in order to take part in a vaccine trial he was conducting. Nigel had already set up successful support groups for cancer patients and Professor Pandha, whose work on immunotherapy, then a barely recognised science, was increasingly successful, asked Nigel if ToC could extend its brief to be a fundraiser for the research team at the University of Surrey. Topic of Cancer charity was officially registered as a charity in 2013 and we now have a Board of 9 Trustees. We are the only immunotherapy based charity in the UK.

What we do

  • Help fund ground-breaking immunotherapy research at University of Surrey. We raise money for items such as consumables, partially fund PhD students working in the labs and have purchased a machine for the labs at £97,000, our biggest item of expenditure ever.
  • Fund (and run) local support groups to support, enhance and prolong the lives of cancer patients and support their families and carers. These take the form of :

ToCVoices choir formed in 2017. The choir has a very enthusiastic choir leader and now comprises about 25 members who have been touched in some way by cancer. Renewing and retaining physical strength is a vital part of recovery and singing produces hormones that greatly support the immune system, boosting feelings of wellbeing. The choir rehearse every week in Guildford and perform regularly. There is no need to be able to read music, no audition. Members can participate face to face or on Zoom.

TocFit. In 2017, fitness classes for cancer sufferers were started at a fitness studio in Guildford under the guidance of specially trained fitness coaches. Our specialist coaches understand what is needed to support physical health and fitness for cancer patients, and they also understand what it takes to deal with the emotional impact of cancer. These groups proved to be very popular and the original 2 classes have grown to 5 a week. We continued these classes on Zoom throughout the pandemic and have continued to do so as this was preferred by class members.

Cancer Chat Café. A support group which meets 3 times a month near Guildford for general conversation or to hear speakers on subjects related to cancer. The way forward when we are all chasing a decreasing pot of money is in collaboration and co-operation so ToC has partnered with the Cancer Chat Café.

All 3 support groups are free of charge.  

How we do it

  • Fund-raising events.
  • Requests for donations in newsletter
  • Presentations at networking meetings
  • Donations from stakeholders

During the past decade, immunotherapy has permanently changed cancer treatment and it has become the standard treatment in the NHS for many.  When Guildford based charity, Topic of Cancer was launched, immunotherapy was still very much in its infancy. Prof Pandha and his research team at the University of Surrey, were one of the few teams spearheading research into this revolutionary type of cancer treatment. Since then, it has entered the medical mainstream as a powerful game-changing treatment for many cancer patients, improving quality and length of life.    Last year the charity has raised £97,000 to buy the research team a Leica BOND RX Processing Module, a machine which stains tumours in a quarter of the time it would take a scientist at the bench so releasing the research team to do other work. We are now focusing on raising funds for  2 projects involving prehabilitation of patients with oesophageal and pancreatic cancer.

ToC should like people to be proud of the work being achieved by this local research team which relies solely on grants and charitable donations to conduct its work. The strengths of Topic of Cancer are that it is volunteer run with very low overheads, people can put names to faces as trustees are always available to meet interested parties, laboratory visits are arranged  so people can see the work being carried out and minutes and accounts are open to scrutiny so donors can see exactly where their money is going —   only 2% of income goes in administration.

For further information, please look at our website – topicofcancer.org.uk