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The second podcast is concerned with the research study and findings on young people with melanoma and is discussed by Dr Wendy McInally who is the Associate Head of Research, Scholarship and Knowledge Exchange at the Open University. In November 2022, Dr Wendy McInally, Professor Susanne Cruickshank, Dr Emma Hainsworth (RA) and Mr Jack Brodie (Consultant) were awarded one of the first Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer (TYAC) research grants of which they were immensely proud.

The research study and its findings 

Transcript (89.8 KB) .

Involving young people as Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is important in any research today. However, this can be tricky! With the incidence of melanoma increasing in the teenage and young adult (TYA) population globally, there is a pressing demand to improve healthcare services and in particular nurse's knowledge and understanding of this disease. As young people with this disease may experience their journey outside specialist cancer services, the care delivery for this patient group require stronger links between services, working better together than apart. Further research is required to answer whether TYA diagnosed with melanoma are supported across the cancer trajectory in the UK.

During Wendy McInally's PhD journey, she stumbled across the song Aspects by Paul Weller. The song is fitting for IPA (a branch of phenomenology seeking to capture the experiences of participants) and how we try to make sense of our life and our world.

Thank you for listening and please look out for the dissemination of our work within peer publications and at cancer conferences.