Owen Fielding, Lead for Local Economies and Enterprise
Owen Fielding volunteered with The Brain Tumour Charity as a member of the Scottish Steering Committee. He was motivated by a desire to help ease the diagnostic pathway for patients and their families and contributed as part of the Diagnostic Pathway sub-group.
What motivated you to give your time to this cause? My late wife Ruthie was a brain tumour patient. I’ve lost two friends to brain tumour, and I’ve discovered that for most brain tumour patients, diagnosis is delayed because the disease can be tricky to diagnose. Often, the diagnosis comes too late. Our volunteer work aims to tightly define and expedite the diagnostic process and educate GPs across Scotland so that signs and symptoms are reliably identified. I attend an online monthly steering group meeting and occasional in-person meetings with the group and at the Scottish Parliament.
For long-term volunteers, can you describe the impact of your volunteering, including any figures if available? About 1000 people in Scotland are diagnosed with primary brain tumour, each year. There are also a fairly large number of secondary brain tumours which originated elsewhere in the body. A high percentage of brain tumours are high risk, including glioblastoma which has a survival rate of around 5% and a life expectancy of around 12-14 months from diagnosis. We aim to reduce the number of deaths from less survivable brain tumours and reduce the harms from other brain tumours by giving Scotland a diagnostic pathway that is fit-for-purpose and gives the patient the best chance of early diagnosis.
Did you encounter any difficulties while volunteering? There are financial challenges – conducting research is expensive, and brain tumour is already challenging to study. There are a small number of less-survivable cancers which NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government are addressing, of which brain tumour is one, so resources are stretched. Brain tumour can be very challenging to treat, even when diagnosed early. The other sub-groups in the Committee are looking at innovative and breakthrough treatments. Recruiting and retaining sufficient volunteers is challenging, particularly from the clinician cohort who are already very time-challenged.
Can you share any feedback or quotes from the organisation regarding your contribution? The Brain Tumour Charity is grateful for volunteer contribution, particularly from the brain tumour bereaved. It is emotively charged and challenging for the bereaved as they hear stories from others who are bereaved. The aims and purpose of the Steering Committee is the driving force that enables the volunteers to contribute to providing solutions and ease the pathway for patients and their families.
What did you learn, discover, or accomplish through your volunteering experience? Volunteering is more than ‘giving back’. Volunteering is an outlet for passion and compassion for a cause; a means of adding real value in a group of like-minded individuals who become a team, and ultimately a contribution to a process that will ease the diagnostic and treatment pathway for patients and their families. I’ve learned that although I am not a clinician, I can bring a meaningful contribution to the process, and recognise that from tragic loss, meaningful and valued sharing of real-life stories helps the grieving.
From your perspective, why is volunteering important, and how would you invite others to take part? Volunteering is the lifeblood of community and important, often life-saving and preventative causes. Be part of something bigger than yourself – you never know where it will take you.