In conversation with Pete Wheatstone

At EORTC, we believe that patients’ experiences, insights, and involvement are invaluable in shaping meaningful clinical studies. In this post, we speak with EORTC patient partner Pete Wheatstone, who shares how patient involvement enhances research quality, drives better outcomes, and informs critical decisions in cancer research.

Pete Wheatstone - Patient

I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer early in 2014. After surgery to remove my tumour and adjacent spleen, I underwent 5 cycles of chemotherapy. Recovery from treatment was hard with both short-term and longer-term medical and financial impacts. 

I would not have been willing to participate in clinical research at that time had I been approached. However, looking back and understanding my reasons for this has subsequently provided very useful insights for my work as a patient partner especially with regard to patient communication.  

Had I known then what I do now about clinical research, I would have been much more interested in participating—provided I fully understood the benefits and risks. Trust and reassurance are key for patients. 

Later, through my research involvement, I discovered that the standard systemic anti-cancer drugs used in my treatment (Fluorouracil/5-FU) were developed from research conducted in the 1950s. 

I know from seeing with my own eyes over the last nine years that patient involvement can makes a significant difference. Being on the receiving end of cancer treatment provides a quite different perspective from that of a clinician.  As one example, I have recently used my cancer experience to help EORTC to help develop a participant questionnaire to better understand the financial impacts of cancer and thereby enable improved support services.   

This has included ensuring that the questions are free of medical jargon and are understandable to research participants, that the questionnaire also takes into account aspects that are important to participants and keeping an eye out of the overall participant burden during their illness and recovery. 

We have made significant progress in integrating patient involvement, but of course, there is always room for improvement to further enhance our impact for the benefit of participants and future patients. 

With one in two people predicted to get cancer during their lifetime, it is vital that advances in both treatment and reductions in the cost of treatment are made so that everyone can access the best treatments available. This can only come about through research and clinical trials which are expensive to run. Given the above statistic, I feel we all have a duty to do whatever we can to contribute to these advances – one never knows who cancer will affect next.

Clearly, cancer vaccines offer hope for existing patients, but we also need to improve early diagnosis, especially for rarer cancers, when treatment is more effective and has less impact on both patients and healthcare services.  

At the same time, we need smarter and kinder treatments—ones that consider not just survival but also the patient's priorities, taking into account what 'quality of life' truly means to them. Too often, we judge quality of life from a medical perspective alone, but we must go further in understanding what truly matters to patients. By doing this, patients can truly make informed treatment decisions with their doctors  

Achieving these advancements requires research, which in turn depends on donations to drive progress. 

I have seen multiple times the impact that cancer can have on the wellbeing of both the patient, their family, dependants and society. It can impact physically, psychologically and financially in the short-term and longer-term.   

Your donations to EORTC have helped fight the war against cancer to the benefit of millions of people in both in Europe and the entire world. We simply cannot thank you enough.  

Pete Wheatstone is a UK-based patient advocate with nine years of experience in patient and public involvement in cancer research. He leads the patient involvement efforts for the FOxTROT clinical trial on neoadjuvant therapy for bowel cancer and he was the chair of the Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Group at DATA-CAN, the UK’s cancer data hub.

Pete joined EORTC as a Patient Advocate in 2023, where he has contributing to its Older Adult Council. He also collaborates with Cancer Research UK, the National Institute for Health Research, Bowel Research UK and Bowel Cancer UK, shaping research strategies, clinical trial management, and patient communication. A co-author of multiple publications, he is dedicated to ensuring patient perspectives drive research and healthcare policies.

You can also help support EORTC’s game-changing clinical research to unleash scientific breakthrough and transform cancer patients’ lives. Learn how to GET INVOLVED, or Make a Contribution Now.

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