In conversation with Professor pamela Kearns

In my advocacy work in campaigning for better treatment for children with cancer, one female medic always stood out for me as an exemplary example of how to lead with authority, compassion and flair. Professor Pam Kearns works on the front line as a doctor treating children with cancer - but that is only part of the story. She heads up many UK and European institutions and is the Director of the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials unit and is a key voice for better ways of making progress in this field.

Here Pam talks resilience, grit and pushing her way to the top in the notoriously difficult and uber-competitive world of medical research. Sure she is steely, but her description of sitting at the bedside of children and young people who are dying, and the tenderness that is required here, had me in tears. She conveys this wonderful kind of ethereal mix of utmost talent and professionalism, but underpinned by a deep sense of what it means to be a human being and to live a purposeful life.

I love this woman - for me she epitomises a life of purpose. I hope you enjoy.

Debbie