A surgeon who has spent more than 25 years caring for people with a rare cancer has been given a national lifetime achievement award.
Professor Craig Gerrand was presented with Sarcoma UK’s Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony held in London last week.
Professor Gerrand is Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Professor of Orthopaedic Oncology at University College London. After training in Glasgow and Toronto, he was appointed Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he worked for the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for 17 years. He moved to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in 2018, where he has been Clinical Director for the service. He specialises in the management of patients with bone and soft tissue tumours, including bone and soft tissue sarcomas.
Alongside his clinical practice, he has served as Chair of the Sarcoma Advisory Groups in the North of England, and London and the South East. He has led the development of national guidelines for sarcoma care and has served as President of both the British Orthopaedic Oncology Society and the British Sarcoma Group. He has also been a member of the NHS England Specialised Cancer Surgery Clinical Reference Group, which supports the commissioning of NHS services.
His research interests include surgical aspects of sarcoma care, rehabilitation, life after sarcoma and innovation in the NHS. He has supported clinical trials in sarcoma and many research students and has given his time and expertise to charities including Sarcoma UK and the Bone Cancer Research Trust.
Professor Gerrand said: “It’s a surprise and a great honour to receive this award. If I have achieved anything, it’s because of the people I have been lucky enough to work with and the patients I have been privileged to look after. Thank you, Sarcoma UK.”
Dr Sorrel Bickley, Director of Research, Policy and Support at Sarcoma UK, said: “Sarcoma is rare, and it takes a special kind of commitment to build the expertise needed to care for people affected by it. For more than 25 years, Professor Gerrand has given exactly that, to his patients, to the colleagues he has trained and supported, and to the wider sarcoma community.
“His work on national guidelines and his leadership across so many organisations have helped to ensure that people with sarcoma receive better, more consistent care wherever they live. His generosity with his time and knowledge, including to Sarcoma UK, has made a lasting difference. We are delighted to recognise him with this award, and we thank him for everything he has done.”
