Tribute to Elizabeth Shafford
Liz wasborn in East Barnet in 1950. Her father Leonard was the librarian at the Royal College of Physicians which Liz later became a member of. She trained at the Middlesex hospital and in her final year spent 10 weeks at the Methodist Mission hospital in Dabou on the Ivory Coast where she was to meet a certain young pharmacist, Adrian Shafford who she married in 1976. She went on tostudy paediatrics at Great Ormond Street Hospital and become Paediatric Oncologist at St Bartholomew’s Hospital where she worked alongside Professor Jim Malpas, Tim Eden andJudith Kingston supporting the long term follow up service and initiating a number of research projects. She was a friend and colleague who we all loved to work with. She was a good friend of Dr Jon Pritchard and became a founding member of SIOPEL an international clinical research group treating children with liver tumours set up in 1987. Liz would travel up and down to the CCLG centre in Leicester to check the data coming in from across the world. In the early years packs of forms wrapped in brown paper would arrive from South America having been posted 2 months previously. In later years it all became electronic and arrived in real time. The SIOPEL 1, 2 and 3 studies owe a lot to Liz as she carefully quality controlled the data together with her partner in crime Margaret Childs who was the trial co-ordinator at the CCLG and then later became the international trial administrator.
The picture above shows Liz, in the blue suit to the right of centre, at the SIOPEL meeting in Edinburgh. Jon Pritchard is far left with Jack Plaschkes on the far right and Giorgio Perilongo, the Chairman at the time, kneeling in the centre. Liz’s husband Adrian would sometimes accompany her to meetings but would often pick her up from the airport on her return. A few years ago she shared wonderful pictures of their 25th wedding anniversary celebrations.
Thanks to SIOPEL trials the prognosis for children with the primary liver cancer, hepatoblastoma, has not only reached excellent levels but the toxicity of the treatment has also been able to be reduced. The SIOPEL 3 trial was published in the NEJM, one of the most renowned medical journals with Liz as third author. This was a triumph for such a rare tumour as hepatoblastoma. Lessons learned from these international trials have also gone on to improve the cure rate for children in countries where previously the majority would die from their disease as well as stimulate further international collaboration across the world in other rare diseases.
Liz later went on to study palliative care and worked for ten years closer to home at St Luke’s Hospice as a palliative care consultant. She had two sons Jonathan married to Sam with their young son James and David married to Liz with their daughter Rebecca and their next on the way. Liz looked after Rebecca on a regular basis for many years and they became very close. She was able to treasure James for a while but sadly will miss the birth of her third grandchild although she may have chosen their name.
David and Jonathan told us that when they were young Liz would tell them captivating Olly bear stories. All about a young bear who lived in the woods in Switzerland (based on the bears kept in Bern city centre) where many a SIOPEL meeting was held!
Liz will be greatly missed by her family, friends and colleagues.
Below is a poem which Liz carried with her in her wallet and which sums up who she was so beautifully.
The cross in my pocket:
I carry a cross in my pocket
A simple reminder to me
Of the fact that I am a Christian
No matter where I may be
This little cross is not magic
Nor is it a good luck charm
It isn’t meant to protect me
From every physical harm.
It’s not for identification
For all the world to see
It’s simply an understanding
Between my Saviour and me
When I put my hand in my pocket
To bring out a coin or key
The cross is there to remind me
Of the price He paid for me.
It reminds me too, to be thankful
For my blessings day by day
And to try to serve him better
In all that I do or say
It’s only a daily reminder
Of the peace and comfort I share
With all who know my Master
And give themselves to his care
So, I carry a cross in my pocket
Reminding no-one but me
That Jesus Christ is Lord of my life
If only I’ll let Him be.
Peppy Brock and Judith Kingston with help from David and Jonathan Shafford 1st April 2014