Who We Are

EGFR Positive UK was set up in 2019 after Kathy and Jenny met and agreed there was an urgent need for an organisation to support EGFR positive lung cancer patients in the UK. Both were passionate about supporting and promoting the needs of EGFR positive patients, their families, and carers. Jenny and Kathy both died in 2021 and EGFR Positive UK is forever grateful for their selfless work and dedication to their fellow lung cancer patients and to the Charity.

Angela Terry
chair

In January 2019, following a skiing accident, a CT scan confirmed a malignant tumor in my lung which was later confirmed as stage IV EGFR positive lung cancer. I had no symptoms, was fit, and a never smoker. I am a retired Business Psychologist and ran my own practice for over 30 years. My family is my husband Rob, our two grown children, Robyn & George their partners, and our Granddaughter.

I was lucky enough to find the EGFR Positive UK charity early in my cancer journey. Having found the group to be of inestimable personal value I am honoured to have the opportunity to continue the work that Jenny and Kathy began. I am committed to furthering equal access to treatment, enabling peer advice and support in managing the many side effects and impact of treatment, and driving patient advocacy.

Lizzi Brazier
SECRETARY AND patient liaison

I was diagnosed in April 2019 after seeking help for lower back. Nothing prepared my family and me for this diagnosis, being an ex-smoker of some 30 years even my GP hadn’t considered it. It was inoperable, incurable, my care is ‘palliative’, my life stopped.

Thankfully treatment started quickly producing amazing results, my tumour shrank to virtually nothing, all mets went, I was able to get my driving licence back (independent living is important to me). I’m stable now. My emotional health can be a rollercoaster and joining this group has helped immensely. The empathy and support I receive is invaluable. I am happy to be able to give something back, helping increase awareness and to support all of us who live with this disease. There is hope for us.

Soumitra Bose
Treasurer

A freak chest X-ray during the Covid period detected my lung cancer in Oct 2021. Being a non-smoker was a huge surprise but I consider myself lucky for this early detection at Stage 2. Post my surgery in Nov 2021 followed by chemotherapy, I am now in full remission but on the Osimertinib course. 

After a career in finance with Unilever and other MNCs, I had taken an early retirement to work in the charity sector in India. The two organisations I governed are involved in health and education of the underprivileged and protecting the environment in the cyclone prone areas of Sunderbans in India. Having initially joined the Facebook group of EGFR Positive UK , as a Trustee now, I hope to bring my knowledge and experience of working in the charity sector. My wife and I live in Croydon, Surrey while our two grown-up sons and are based in Singapore and London. 

Gini Harrison
Researcher

I was diagnosed with EGFR+ lung cancer in December 2021, while I was on maternity leave with my second child. I’d been suffering with persistent shoulder pain for about 9 months, which was put down to poor breastfeeding posture. But an MRI identified tumours in my right lung, hilar lymph node, and scapula. A biopsy revealed that I had Stage IV EGFR+ NSCLC. As a young(ish!!), never smoker who was otherwise relatively healthy, I genuinely couldn’t believe it. It felt like my world suddenly collapsed and made no sense. Luckily I found a lot of support and information online, and EGFR+ UK was a fantastic source of both. This group gave me hope. And I’m honoured to be able to be involved with them. 

As a Lecturer and a Psychologist, I’m passionate about education and wellbeing, and I am committed to raising awareness about EGFR lung cancer, and supporting those affected by it. I am also a firm believer that knowledge is power. Understanding your specific cancer and what treatment options might be effective can help you to be your own advocate. When I was first diagnosed there were no targeted treatments available for my rare EGFR Exon 20 mutation. Since then, mobocertinib has been approved, and many more treatments are in the pipeline. So research gives me hope for the future… and I hope to be able to share some of it through the Charity.

natasha loveridge
marketing trustee

As a fit, healthy, non-smoker,  I was utterly shocked when I was diagnosed with Stage 4 NSCLC EGFR+ exon 19 deletion in January 2023.  I was initially misdiagnosed in October 2022 as having tuberculosis after attending a chest x-ray to investigate a persistent cough and hoarse voice.  I thought my world had ended but then I started to take Osimertinib as a palliative drug.  Osimertinib has given me my life back; it has given me so much hope.  My primary tumour has shrunk and my brain metastasis can no longer be seen on a CT scan.   

My lung cancer nurse specialist told me about EGFR+ UK when I was first diagnosed and the facebook group and website have been such a support.  The knowledge, empathy and sense of community within the group is phenomenal and I was so proud when I was asked to become a trustee of this fabulous charity.

I am a mum of two teenage daughters who keep me on my toes; a wife to the ever supportive Matthew; and a dog mum to Max and Olive, my two bonkers hounds! I have been a primary school teacher for 26 years and absolutely adore my job - I miss not seeing the children every day but working for EGFR Positive UK has given me a new focus.  I am determined to raise awareness of EGFR Positive lung cancer and to challenge stigmas attached to lung cancer.

Dr Riyaz Shah
Honorary Clinical Advisor

Dr Shah qualified from Guy’s and St Thomas Hospitals in 1994 and obtained Membership of the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1997. He completed junior medical training in London and was subsequently awarded an Imperial Cancer Research Fund Clinical Research Fellowship that led to the completion of a PhD from Imperial College/Hammersmith Hospital (1998-2001). His research focused on gene transcriptional irregularities in cancer and gene therapy.

Dr Shah completed Medical Oncology training at The Royal Marsden Hospital (2002-2006) before being appointed as a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Kent Oncology Centre (2006-). He was awarded an ASCO Foundation Merit Award in 2005 for his work in a cancer known as carcinosarcoma. He is active in several local and national committees and has a major interest in clinical research and acts as principal investigator on many trials. He was the UK Chief Investigator of the Lux LUNG 5 trial. He has published widely and is regularly invited to speak at local, national, and international meetings.