about us
Improving Cancer Treatment
The Charity derives its name from the words Pelvic and Liver Cancer. Formed in 2000 it was based around the pioneering work in bowel cancer surgery of Professor `Bill` Heald OBE, Mr. Brendan Moran and colleagues in Basingstoke. It has since expanded to include other cancers of the pelvic region and liver.
Surgery remains the most effective cure for cancer, the majority of cancer patients require surgery and bowel cancer can often be cured through early surgical intervention. The majority of medical research today is looking for the magic bullet that will cure all cancers tomorrow. Pelican is about curing cancer today through research, training and treatment.
The charity has a world vision for:
- Enabling improvements in treatment using precision surgery
- Teaching and developing the latest procedures for surgeons and cancer teams
- Leading research into pelvic cancer surgery and treatment
To achieve our aims Pelican has become a `centre of excellence` for sharing life saving, life enhancing knowledge and skills to future generations of surgeons and cancer teams.
Our research focuses on advancing the latest techniques of precision surgery for bowel, liver and urological cancer. To see our current portfolio of research please see the research page of this website.
Our education programme reflects our priority areas of bowel, liver and urology. Development and training is provided for consultants and specialist registrars with the objective of sharing best practice and investigating ever better methods of curing cancers in the pelvic region through surgery.
Over the last 20 years Professor Heald has specialised in the research and development of the Total Mesorectal Excision (TME) technique for rectal cancer. This technique has now become the "gold standard" for rectal cancer surgery.
Pelican ran the first National Training Programme for Multi Disciplinary Teams who came to Basingstoke to learn about TME. Over 2,000 clinicians attended courses between 2003-06 and a continuation of this programme continues with Prof Heald and Mr Moran every year.
The contribution of Pelican and the associated surgeons cannot be over stated. Their work has made life saving changes to thousands of patients all over the world. Today the life expectancy and quality of life for many bowel cancer patients is far greater than it was just ten years ago thanks to their innovative work.
