The Team

Irene Wotherspoon

Chair of Patient Material subgroup

Advanced Clinical Nurse Specialist for Neuro-endocrine Tumours and Thyroid Cancer at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre

Irene began her General Adult Nursing Training in 1988 at the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow.  After qualifying in 1991 she worked in acute medical receiving at the Victoria and then Specialist Endocrinology at the Western Infirmary. In 1995 she moved to an acute medical/haematology at Gartnavel General. It was here that Irene’s passion for nursing patients with cancer began. Whilst initially terrified at how she would deal with teenagers and young adults with acute leukaemias she found herself surprisingly able to provide complex emotional support to the patients and their families. Following completion of a BSc (Health Studies) Irene moved to Ross Hall Hospital in 1999 to lead and develop the Oncology and Breast Cancer Nurse service.

As the incidence of patients with metastatic disease increased Irene became very aware of the importance of and need for Palliative Care. In 2003 Irene moved into the first substantive post as Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow. In the subsequent 16 years Irene has had a combination of Clinical, Practice Development and Lecturer roles within Palliative and Cancer Care and Higher Education. Irene completed an MSc in Specialist Nursing (Palliative Care) and gained a Specialist Practitioner Qualification in Palliative Care in 2009. In recognition of her academic work Irene has been recognised as Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

In May 2016 Irene took up post as Advanced Clinical Nurse Specialist for Neuro-endocrine Tumours and Thyroid Cancer at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. The Beatson has subsequently been accredited as a European Centre of Excellence in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours.

Irene continues to lead the development of services the team delivers and has a significant audit portfolio. Additionally Irene has set up the nursing and data reporting aspects of the national lutathera service and supports the Band 6 CNS in her role.

Dr Claire McArthur

Chair of Radiology subgroup

Consultant Head and Neck Radiologist, NHS GGC. Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Glasgow. RCR Audit Lead. MBChB, FRCR, EBiHNR

Claire McArthur has been working as a Consultant Head and Neck Radiologist in Glasgow Royal Infirmary since 2017, previously in University Hospital Crosshouse since 2013. Her work covers the full spectrum of head and neck radiology including thyroid disease and she is the Radiology lead for the West of Scotland Thyroid Cancer MDT and for the North Glasgow neck lump clinic.    

Claire is lead author on a published multi-centre study comparing thyroid nodule ultrasound classification systems and supervisor of a large study on incidental thyroid nodules with award winning presentations nationally and internationally. As RCR audit lead she is committed to quality improvement and has led projects on the role of staging CT in differentiated thyroid cancer and the role of ultrasound follow-up in hemithyroidectomy for thyroid malignancy.   

She has pioneered the assessment of cyst fluid thyroglobulin in the diagnostic work-up of metastatic papillary thyroid cancer.  

She is actively involved in teaching undergraduate medical and dental students and at a postgraduate level teaches radiology, ENT and endocrine trainees, consultant colleagues and sonographers in thyroid ultrasound having developed a comprehensive image library and delivered an invited lecture at an international BAETS masterclass.    

Claire was on the Scottish Thyroid Cancer Programme Board and co-authored the Consensus Guidance on Routine Practice for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer in Scotland, 2020. She is the current Chair of the Radiology subgroup of the Scottish Thyroid Cancer Network. 

Kathryn Graham

RAI & Nuclear Medicine Sub-Group

Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the , Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, NHS GGC.

Irene began her General Adult Nursing Training in 1988 at the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow.  After qualifying in 1991 she worked in acute medical receiving at the Victoria and then Specialist Endocrinology at the Western Infirmary. In 1995 she moved to an acute medical/haematology at Gartnavel General. It was here that Irene’s passion for nursing patients with cancer began. Whilst initially terrified at how she would deal with teenagers and young adults with acute leukaemias she found herself surprisingly able to provide complex emotional support to the patients and their families. Following completion of a BSc (Health Studies) Irene moved to Ross Hall Hospital in 1999 to lead and develop the Oncology and Breast Cancer Nurse service.

As the incidence of patients with metastatic disease increased Irene became very aware of the importance of and need for Palliative Care. In 2003 Irene moved into the first substantive post as Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow. In the subsequent 16 years Irene has had a combination of Clinical, Practice Development and Lecturer roles within Palliative and Cancer Care and Higher Education. Irene completed an MSc in Specialist Nursing (Palliative Care) and gained a Specialist Practitioner Qualification in Palliative Care in 2009. In recognition of her academic work Irene has been recognised as Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

In May 2016 Irene took up post as Advanced Clinical Nurse Specialist for Neuro-endocrine Tumours and Thyroid Cancer at the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. The Beatson has subsequently been accredited as a European Centre of Excellence in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours.

Irene continues to lead the development of services the team delivers and has a significant audit portfolio. Additionally Irene has set up the nursing and data reporting aspects of the national lutathera service and supports the Band 6 CNS in her role.