Claire James

In 2014, Claire had a routine blood donation rejected; this led to a diagnosis of Myeloma. A year later, Claire was separately diagnosed with HER2+ inflammatory
breast cancer. Both diagnoses were unexpected; Claire has always had a healthy lifestyle & there is no family history of cancer.

Claire is sports mad; she runs half marathons for fun & enjoys cycling & gym sessions. Claire ran every day during chemotherapy for breast cancer and loves helping people gain enjoyment from sport. Sport helps her deal with the stress of living with incurable cancer. Her aim is to live well with myeloma and the permanent impact of breast cancer treatment. 

Claire thinks being part of public involvement turns her experience into a positive. It uses the skills gained during employment to support vital initiatives like Cancer Grand Challenges.She is convinced that high quality research is essential for improving health & wellbeing. 

In additional to being part of the Cancer Grand Challenges Advocacy Panel, Claire is co-chair of the patient advisory group for CRUK’s Test Evidence Transition programme. She is also a member of: the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (advising Welsh Government about medicines management and prescribing); the Wales Cancer Research Centre Steering Committee; the Yellow Card Centre Wales Advisory Panel; the National Pharmacogenomics Group for Wales. Claire is also a member of several local research groups & clinical trial management groups.