Wednesday, July 20, 2022 CCTG would like to welcome Bill Richardson a new Patient Representative who will be working with the Head and Neck disease site committee. Bill is located in Calgary with a microbiologist background and has worked in government, private industry, teaching and later moved to IT spending 30 years in the Kinesiology Faculty at the University of Calgary. He was diagnosed in 2008 with slow progressing prostate cancer and then in 2012 he was diagnosed with throat cancer and received surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. During his treatment, he took part in a study on the timing of exercise in head and neck cancer patients and spoke about his experience with cancer and the effects of physical activity on his recovery. He then joined the Alberta Health Services, Patient and Family Advisory Network, at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and participated in a variety of activities, generally focused on education and research. "During my cancer experience I met many patients and realized that we came with a wide variety of personal, family, employment and health experiences and situations. These can all affect how we are able to deal with our treatment and recovery. I am interested in bringing these experiences, in all their diversity, to improve clinical trials and processes for patients," says Bill. In 2018, the prostate cancer advanced and he then participated in a clinical trial designed to improve the quality of Prostate Cancer diagnosis by using Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen PET scanning. Bill has been involved in a number of sports including, canoeing, triathlon, cycling, running, hiking and cross-country skiing, as an athlete, coach and teacher, administrator, and volunteer for many years. We encourage everyone involved in the Head and Neck committee to reach out and introduce yourselves to Bill, we are excited to welcome him to the CCTG team!
