Navigating cancer treatments, together…
Our service empowers patients and their clinicians to go above & beyond to find and access potentially life extending cancer treatments.
Cancer coaching, navigation & collaboration
Born out of the frustration many people encounter when facing a lack of treatment options after a hard-to-treat cancer diagnosis, our service supports and coaches cancer patients and their families through all the stages of going beyond standard of care. Our combined experience and accumulated resources, networks and knowledge from helping over 200 international patients across 10 years enables a unique offering of support, guidance and bridge building between patients and clinicians.
We help to alleviate the confusion and provide a safer environment for those struggling with next steps to understand their options, make treatment decisions and ultimately give back more time to our clients to spend with their loved ones.
Here to help
In our video, we explain how we work with patients, families and clinicians across US, UK and Europe.
-
Coaching
-
Logistics Management
-
Clinical Navigation
-
Building Support Teams
We can relate
“As a stage IV cancer patient, I felt…”
- Cordelia, Lead Patient Navigator
-
"Devastated"
Devastated at the lack of treatment options available within standard care.
-
"Overwhelmed"
Overwhelmed by where to start looking for other treatments.
-
"Anxious"
Anxious about my lack clinical knowledge and understanding about the complexities that lay ahead.
-
"Confused"
Confused by conflicting advice largely due to a lack of communication between teams.
-
"Frustrated"
Frustrated with the lack of integration, coordination and cooperation between separate professionals involved in my care.
-
"Exhausted"
Exhausted with having to research and manage it all myself.
Let us be the guide so you can focus on what’s important
Our services are patient-led and built around you:
Researching, gathering and distilling information on potential options and their requirements
Providing a safe patient and clinical sounding board to discuss all treatments
Building an international expert team of medical and clinical professionals at the forefront of cancer research and development
Advocating and facilitating peer-to-peer appeals to your existing medical teams
Logistical help to access treatment and coordinate clinics in a safe environment
We are an independent service; not here to direct you to specific treatments or pathways. Instead, our work is around helping you understand and make informed decisions.
Meet the Team
Our service co-founders have over 25 years of patient navigation care experience between them:
-
Cordelia Taylor, Patient Navigator Consultant
As our Lead Patient Navigator, Cordelia has a unique breadth of experience that spans from 15 years of managing highly complex consortiums right through to being a patient herself after being diagnosed with a Stage 4 hard-to-treat cancer in 2018.
Nothing could have prepared her for the devastating news however her project management skills came into their own when she realised how much coordination and perseverance would be needed to go beyond the very limited options she was given both through the state health service and privately.
As Cordelia began to learn more she started helping many others to understand and navigate the steps required to identify and access additional treatment. This experience led her to work for a genomic sequencing company before realising that patients and their families still desperately lacked the support to understand and coordinate the overwhelming amount of information given by so many different sources.
Cordelia therefore not only has the knowledge and skills to navigate and coach people through the complexity, but she also has a deep understanding of all the other needs of patients and their families having been there herself.
-
Dr Jack Kreindler, Supervisory Clinician
Dr Jack Kreindler is a doctor, researcher and serial medical technology entrepreneur. He started his career in emergency medicine, developing his special interest in extreme environments and high-altitude physiology. In 2007, he founded the Centre of Health and Human Performance which has managed some of the sickest patients facing their greatest challenges, the majority being complex cancer cases, by applying elite sport science to maintain quality of life and achieving the best possible outcomes to patients, irrespective of their prognosis.
He has also experienced cancer from a caregivers’ point of view when his wife was diagnosed with double gynaecological cancer and despite all the resources that were available to him, still felt powerless and uninformed. From the insights he gained from his wife’s journey along with an unrivalled access to the biotech and trials space due to his medtech background, he has dedicated much of his personal time to help guide cancer patients in how to communicate with their oncologists, building teams and navigating options outside of their local care provider.
Jack lectures globally on the future of medicine and is a Clinical Research Fellow at Imperial.
-
Marje Isabelle, Company Operations
While Marje leads on all things operational at ACT Above & Beyond, her experience and skillset are considerable.
She began her career 25 years ago, in fundraising for various charities, then spent several years in NHS management posts. However, she is also a business-owner, a NED for health tech companies, a patient navigator for people with cancer and women’s health issues and a coach.
Marje's work and passion are informed by her own patient journey through cancer, infertility and menopause: the surgical treatment she received after being diagnosed with womb and ovarian cancer at aged 35 left her with life-long health impacts which she had been poorly prepared for.
Navigating and coaching people to make informed decisions for the best outcomes is a priority for Marje and is the reason she set up the Innovative Treatment Info Hub through ACT for Cancer’s non-profit vehicle.
Marje is the first port of call for any enquiries and information required.
“After being told that nothing else would work against my wife’s cancer, we were suddenly out in the cold and we felt very alone. The learning curve is steep for anyone trying to understand what to do next - it’s absolutely terrifying. Having an expert team to help advise on treatment options and then to help us access them was invaluable.”
— David, ACT Above and Beyond Supporter