Professor Deborah Fenlon

Professor Fenlon is a leading nurse researcher in the field of cancer survivorship. In particular looking at the needs of women who have been treated for breast cancer and in developing and testing interventions to help support them with these ongoing needs. She lead the clinical nursing services for breast cancer at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London and Surrey before becoming a full time teacher and researcher.

Professor Fenlon is a member of the National Cancer Research Institute Clinical Studies Group for Breast Cancer and chairs the NCRI Symptom Management Group for Breast Cancer. She is also advisor to Breast Cancer Now, Breast Cancer Care, the National Audit for Breast Cancer in Older People and Macmillan Cancer Support.

“My aim is to see research as an integral part of nursing practice in the same way it is for medicine - never taking for granted that we know the best way to deliver care and always striving to make it better.”

Areas of Expertise

  • Cancer nursing
  • Breast cancer
  • cancer survivorship

Publications

  1. & (2019). A comparison of three outcome measures of the impact of vasomotor symptoms on women’s lives. Climacteric, 1-5.
  2. & (2018). Comorbidities are associated with poorer quality of life and functioning and worse symptoms in the 5 years following colorectal cancer surgery: Results from the ColoREctal Well-being (CREW) cohort study. Psycho-Oncology 27(10), 2427-2435.
  3. & (2018). Adjuvant endocrine therapy after breast cancer: a qualitative study of factors associated with adherence. Patient Preference and Adherence Volume 12, 291-300.
  4. & (2018). A feasibility study of the Mini-AFTER telephone intervention for the management of fear of recurrence in breast cancer survivors: a mixed-methods study protocol. Pilot and Feasibility Studies 4(1)
  5. & (2017). Psychometric properties of the Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire–adjuvant endocrine therapy (BMQ-AET) for women taking AETs following early-stage breast cancer. Health Psychology Open 4(2), 205510291774046

See more...

Teaching

  • SHNM22 Research and Development in District Nurse Practice (SPDN)

    This core module builds on students¿ previous knowledge of research and aims to further develop their knowledge and understanding of the research process to include a critical analysis of how practice and research are interrelated and its application to community nursing practice. There is an emphasis on 'action learning' approaches - which means that students are encouraged to critically review and analyse their practice and development and share their progress/difficulties in an educative, supportive and challenging arena (with other students, teachers, lecturers and practice teachers).

  • SHTM35 Researching Educational Practice

    This module aims to develop participants¿ awareness of the key issues, principles and practice of educational research and to provide the knowledge and understanding required to conduct small-scale research into their own practice.

Supervision

  • Exploiting 3D scanning technology in lymphoedema for accurate and fast measurements of volume and shape (current)

    Student name:
    DProf
    Other supervisor: Dr Raoul Van Loon
    Other supervisor: Dr Tessa Watts
    Other supervisor: Dr Darren Edwards
    Other supervisor: Prof Deborah Fenlon

  • Self Management Programme for Women with Breast Cancer in Saudi Arabia (current)

    Student name:
    PhD
    Other supervisor: Dr Ian Beech
    Other supervisor: Prof Deborah Fenlon

  • Does participation in an e-learning programme improve NMP knowledge, performance, willingness to prescribe and confidence? (current)

    Student name:
    PhD
    Other supervisor: Prof Deborah Fenlon
    Other supervisor: Prof Jayne Cutter

  • Can an embedded third sector personalized program of support people with breast cancer reduce reliance on NHS services compared with usual care? A mixed-methods, patients preference feasibility study. (current)

    Student name:
    PhD
    Other supervisor: Dr Ian Beech
    Other supervisor: Prof Deborah Fenlon

Research Groups

  • National Cancer Research Institute

    National Cancer Research Institute Clinical Studies Group for Breast Cancer

  • NCRI Symptom Management Group

    Chair of NCRI Symptom Management Group for Breast Cancer

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