Page 47 - eclipse - Autumn 2018

“My vet degree helped me combat cancer”
CLASSNOTES
Lizzie Erian-Round graduated from the RVC in 2012, and has spent the majority of her veterinary career working in
the animal health communications sector. She is the lead Veterinary Healthcare Consultant at Pegasus, an award winning Healthcare Communications agency. Lizzie is currently helping to launch BVA Hertfordshire YVN, which held their first meeting at the RVC’s Hawkshead Campus in October this year.
Lizzie was diagnosed this January with Stage 4 adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) after a lump developed on her hard palate.
ACC is a rare and aggressive form
of cancer, with no known risk factors.
Lizzie describes her initial reaction on receiving the diagnosis: “Initially I thought I’d just burnt my mouth
on some hot cheese - it was almost
surreal to hear the ‘C-word’ (‘cancer’, not ‘cheese’). It’s a cliché but you really don’t expect it to happen
to you, especially when you’re an otherwise healthy 30-year -old.”
“However, I amazed myself (and the consultant I think) at how quickly
I jumped into ‘vet mode’. There were no tears, I wasn’t lost for words -
I just began asking a logical series of questions about next steps.”
Having worked in animal health communications for years, Lizzie is no stranger to applying her veterinary training outside of clinical practice and has long been an advocate for the transferable skills it teaches. However, she hadn’t appreciated
just how invaluable they might be throughout her ordeal:
“My situation was so rare that there was no ‘best practice’ approach – just a variety of treatment options with drastically different potential consequences. Each doctor had
a different opinion and ultimately
it was up to me to collate all the information and make the decisions. So I applied my best clinical reasoning, research and analytical skills at each stage. This actually unlocked a new combination of treatment options, changing my prognosis from poor
to positive.”
Lizzie ended up having multiple surgeries, including the removal and reconstruction of half of her
maxilla and hard palate as well
as going abroad for a gruelling
two month course of proton beam radiation. She’s now back home and recovering better than expected, most importantly with her positive outlook still intact.
Lizzie believes that the softer skills cultivated through her veterinary training, such as resilience, communication and the art of maintaining a sense of humour through tough times, were also key in helping her triumph through treatment. Not to mention the kindness and support she’s received from the vet community and her colleagues at Pegasus which she describes as being “extraordinary”.
“I’ve always believed that the veterinary degree is a powerful springboard for just about any career path you wish to carve out for yourself. Now I appreciate more acutely the variety of ways these skills can enrich our personal lives too – something which I think
we could actively recognise more often.”
BVA Herts YVN
If you would like to know more about the BVA Hertfordshire YVN, then search for ‘BVA Hertfordshire Young Vet Network’ on Facebook, or email bvahertfordshireyvn@gmail.com.
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