Second Opinions with John Crown

In episode 8 of the podcast John speaks to Professor Shaun McCann, a former boss of his at St James Hospital. Professor McCann led the team that performed the first successful bone-marrow transplant in Ireland. In this interview we hear about his education at UCD, the 2 years he spent at the University of Minnesota and his return to Ireland. And Shaun tells us how he fought to get the cancer drug, Imatinib available in Ireland and he talks about his own battle with cancer. Producer: Fergus Sweeney

Professor Ken O’Byrne, a native Dubliner, is an oncologist working in Brisbane in Australia. He’s a world authority on lung cancer In this interview Professor O’Byrne talks about the history of lung cancer, the obstacles faced by patients and the future outlook. Producer: Fergus Sweeney

Professor Anne Parle-McDermott is Director of the Life Sciences Institute at Dublin City University. In this interview Professor Parle-McDermott tells us about her background and she talks about some of the important research that’s taking place at the Institute. The health effects of vaping and its relationship to cancer is just one such area that DCU is investigating. Producer: Fergus Sweeney

Dr Sara Hurvitz is head of Medical Oncology at the University of Washington, Seattle and the Fred Hutch Cancer Centre. In this interview Sara tells us about some of the newer drugs which have been introduced into breast cancer care in recent times. And she mentions some clinical trials and other developments which are catching her eye at the moment. Producer: Fergus Sweeney

On the morning of 23 October 1975, the peace and quiet of a street in Kensington, West London was shattered when an IRA bomb was detonated. The blast killed Gordon Hamilton Fairley, the UK’s first Professor of Medical Oncology - a man who had dedicated his life to fighting cancer. His untimely death was a devastating blow not only to his family, but to a medical community that relied on his insight, his scientific vision and his compassion. Now 50 years on from that tragic event, John Crown talks to two of Gordon Hamilton-Fairley’s colleagues - Professor Tim Oliver and Professor Ray Powles. John also chats to journalist Eamonn Mallie about other health care workers killed in the Northern Ireland troubles.