Many hurdles 

“Do the things you enjoy in your work and, if you stop enjoying it, try and change what you’re doing,” she tells Synergy. “I loved the clinical job for a long time, and then I was just finding it quite frustrating and overwhelming. I switched to the research job and got a new lease of life.

“Follow your gut feeling, and talk to people. If you’re not sure what you’re going to do, talk to people. It’s quite easy to look at somebody like me and think: ‘I could never do that’ – there’s been so many hurdles to overcome. But if you want to do something different, and you’re among the first to do it, it’s going to be like that. Don’t give up. Just keep going.”

On Thursday 5 September at the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, London, Kevin Harrington, professor of biological cancer therapies at the institute, opened Helen’s inaugural lecture by welcoming the guests, and spoke warmly of her achievement, celebrating her commitment, tenacity and hard work.

The lecture, entitled ‘Spot on: Smarter Kinder Radiotherapy’, followed Helen from Belfast’s Northern Ireland School of Therapeutic Radiography to her years in Australia and her move to The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. It featured Helen’s shift from clinical radiography to research, her PhD work and her research grant with Health Education England (HEE)/the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Perhaps most importantly, it covered her hard work and incredible achievements.

Synergy sat down with Helen to find out more about the obstacles she has faced over the years to reach her prestigious title, how she has helped to support and deliver care for cancer patients, and how her involvement in research and within the multidisciplinary team has enabled services across the country to deliver more targeted radiotherapy and reduced side effects.

Translational therapeutic radiography

Helen McNair is a professor of translational therapeutic radiography at the Institute of Cancer Research. She previously held a HEE/NIHR senior clinical lecturer grant (2014-19) and works as lead clinical academic radiographer in the radiotherapy department at The Royal Marsden.

“It’s still sinking in a year later,” Helen admits on receiving her professorship. “The inaugural lecture helped, because that’s supposed to be a celebration. It takes time to organise, it’s normally held a year after you become a professor and it was a fantastic occasion. I had all my family there, all my seven brothers and sisters, lots of old colleagues, lots of current colleagues and people who supported me in my personal life as well.”

But what, Synergy asks, does her area of expertise actually mean? Translational therapeutic radiography is the practice of turning novel technology and theory into practice. Radiographers sit at the intersection of patients and technology. Where they meet, radiographers are there to mediate the connection – and ensuring that connection goes smoothly can make the difference between a positive and a negative patient experience. “We’re the only profession that’s qualified to deliver radiotherapy, so we deal with the patients and the technology,” says Helen. “How we implement new techniques is extremely important.”

Asking questions is at the core of research, and Helen’s area of expertise specifically asks whether the way technology is being used is as good as it can be. “What’s the most efficient, effective way of doing that?” she asks. “How do we train the staff? What about the patient experience? What do they think about the new techniques? Is there any patient training, or patient compliance, that has to be considered? They might have to be on the bed for longer, they might have to hold their breath – do these things help with the technology?”

Other projects Helen has worked on include the breath-hold technique for breast cancer patients, used to create a space between a patient’s heart and the radiotherapy to reduce potential damage to the heart. She was part of the multidisciplinary team that rolled the technique out around the UK.

‘Dedication to the profession’

Helen has since passed on much of her experience by mentoring and supervising radiographers doing research at The Royal Marsden and elsewhere. 

Even with her national and international teaching courses, staying based in the radiotherapy department is very important, she adds. Doing so allows her to work closely with clinical colleagues, where they can bounce ideas off each other and critically appraise new developments.

Now that Helen is a professor, she says she’s looking forward to enjoying the next few years. She tells Synergy she would like to set up a team for succession planning, establishing the role and position of therapeutic radiography research at The Royal Marsden.

Charlotte Beardmore, executive director of professional policy at the Society of Radiographers, attended the lecture. She said: “On behalf of the Society of Radiographers I would like to offer the warmest of congratulations to Helen – we are very proud of you and your achievements. I would like to thank Helen for her dedication to the profession, and importantly to recognise that her research, and that of colleagues she is now supervising through the NIHR-funded work, is and will continue to evaluate how we can deliver the best possible care to patients. 

“Thank you, Professor Helen McNair.”

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