Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life returns with new season on Channel 4

Series two of Wonderhood’s Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life will air on 18 June, giving viewers exclusive behind-the-scenes access to The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, a world-leading comprehensive cancer center.

The second series, filmed predominantly in the Chelsea site of The Royal Marsden, includes stories from younger adults living with rare and recurrent cancers and showcases innovative robotic surgery.

Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life (4x60’) follows cancer patients and the clinical teams who treat them, featuring some of the world’s most complex and challenging oncological cases.

Patients Anthea, Cameron, Rich, Tracy, Lauren, Matthew, Jonathan, and Dave share their stories across the four episodes with their Royal Marsden Super Surgeons, Professor Vin Paleri, Mr Asif Chaudry, Mr Myles Smith, Mr Shanu Rasheed, Professor Andy Hayes and Professor David Nicol.

Across the series, we see a patient diagnosed at just 18 years old, the removal of a 16cm neck tumor and a radical pelvic exenteration – where almost all of the organs in the pelvis are removed. Surgeries included in the series are truly pioneering in their field, with one episode showing the first ever robotic surgery on a patient with sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma, an extremely rare oesophago-gastric cancer. 

I do this job to help people. It is a technical exercise, but for me it's literally one person helping another human being. That's why I do this job and I'm doing it in this context in an operating theatre. The ability of one human to help another human, I think, is one of the, if not the most beautiful things in the world.” 

Mr Shahnawaz Rasheed, Consultant Colorectal and Gastrointestinal Surgeon

Anthea, 18-year-old sarcoma patient from the series, said: “I decided to take part in the programme to help represent young people with cancer as, most of the time, content about the disease is aimed at older people. I also want to show others you can be happy when you’re going through difficulties. I hope it will be a way to support others without actually being there.”

The new series of Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life will air weekly on Channel 4 from 18 June. The full series box set will be available on demand on the Channel 4 website from 18 June.

Dame Cally Palmer, Chief Executive of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust said: “It’s been a pleasure having the Super Surgeons team back into The Royal Marsden to document the great work of our surgeons and staff across the hospital as well as follow our amazing patients through a very difficult time in their lives.

“I want to thank those involved, especially the surgeons and patients that opened their lives to the show – and to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity who often fund our work. We hope the series will do more to raise awareness of the different types of cancer, but also encourage people to seek support or go to their GP if they’re experiencing symptoms.”

The Royal Marsden opened its doors in 1851 as the world’s first hospital dedicated to cancer diagnosis, treatment, research and education. The Royal Marsden and its principal academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research, are ranked as one of the top comprehensive cancer centers in the world for the impact of their research.

The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money solely to support the Trust, ensuring Royal Marsden nurses, doctors and research teams can provide the very best care and develop life-saving treatments -which are used across the UK and around the world.

From funding state-of-the-art equipment and ground-breaking research, to creating the very best patient environments, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity will never stop looking for ways to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.