It Started in a Cupboard by Kenneth Calman sampler
ir Kenneth Calman’s extraordinary life story is based on a passionate love of learning – and it all began with him doing his homework by candlelight in a cupboard of his mum’s Glasgow council house. He went on to be at the forefront of three different medical revolutions – oncology, palliative care and the use of the arts in medical education – and to help guide the country through the BSE/VCJD health crisis. As Scotland’s and then England’s Chief Medical Officer the reforms he pushed through saved many lives by improving both cancer care and the training of doctors. Few people know as much about learning, laughter, health and happiness – or, come to that, sundials, beagles, cathedrals and cartoons. And few people have touched so many lives, especially those of the seriously ill and dying, with quite as much grace, humour and humanity.
ir Kenneth Calman’s extraordinary life story is based on a passionate love of learning – and it all began with him doing his homework by candlelight in a cupboard of his mum’s Glasgow council house. He went on to be at the forefront of three different medical revolutions – oncology, palliative care and the use of the arts in medical education – and to help guide the country through the BSE/VCJD health crisis. As Scotland’s and then England’s Chief Medical Officer the reforms he pushed through saved many lives by improving both cancer care and the training of doctors.
Few people know as much about learning, laughter, health and happiness – or, come to that, sundials, beagles, cathedrals and cartoons. And few people have touched so many lives, especially those of the seriously ill and dying, with quite as much grace, humour and humanity.
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it started <strong>in</strong> a cupboard<br />
dogs depend<strong>in</strong>g on where we were and what we were do<strong>in</strong>g at<br />
the time. From be<strong>in</strong>g a toddler on Wimbledon Common chas<strong>in</strong>g<br />
after Bart, our black Labrador – the first of our family’s dogs – to<br />
ambl<strong>in</strong>g ahead of Ailsa, his slow, snuffl<strong>in</strong>g beagle, those walks<br />
with Dad have helped shape my past, present and future life, and<br />
I treasure them.<br />
To this day we all get together on 2 January every year, no matter<br />
what else is happen<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the world, for a long walk with the dogs.<br />
And for all of us it is a chance to connect and relax.<br />
My sister Lynn is the only one of us who has carried on the family<br />
tradition of health care. Personally, I fa<strong>in</strong>t at the sight of blood so<br />
would have been worse than useless <strong>in</strong> a ward, but she understands<br />
Dad’s legacy <strong>in</strong> a different way. She says:<br />
There can be few people who have had such an impact on the<br />
lives of people liv<strong>in</strong>g with cancer, both at an <strong>in</strong>dividual and service<br />
delivery level.<br />
I remember as a child visit<strong>in</strong>g his unit at the hospital <strong>in</strong> Glasgow<br />
every Christmas Day – not realis<strong>in</strong>g till much later the impact this<br />
had on me. But lead<strong>in</strong>g the team <strong>by</strong> example and be<strong>in</strong>g there on<br />
the ward was so important to him. Despite his regular absences –<br />
even<strong>in</strong>gs and Saturday morn<strong>in</strong>gs back <strong>in</strong> the hospital, conferences<br />
and courses all over the world – I th<strong>in</strong>k we somehow understood<br />
even as young children that what he did was so important for<br />
people. The smell of a hospital still rem<strong>in</strong>ds me of hugg<strong>in</strong>g him<br />
when he came home at night<br />
He went above and beyond to be there for patients. The team<br />
<strong>in</strong> his unit was truly multidiscipl<strong>in</strong>ary with value placed on the<br />
role of everyone. The ground-break<strong>in</strong>g patient booklets written<br />
with patients and nurses are an example of this and were well<br />
ahead of the curve of what would now be the standard of care<br />
<strong>in</strong> the nhs. I remember hear<strong>in</strong>g the unit ‘parties’ and skits from<br />
my bedroom and th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g whatever they do at work it must be<br />
great fun! Back then, I wouldn’t have had any <strong>in</strong>kl<strong>in</strong>g of the stra<strong>in</strong><br />
that poor survival rates and limited treatment options would have<br />
placed on the team.<br />
Dad’s <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>in</strong> cancer care has gone beyond the <strong>in</strong>dividual.<br />
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