It is with great sadness that the Master and Fellows of St Peter’s College Oxford share news of the death of our Emeritus Fellow Dr Robert Twycross on Sunday 20 October 2024.
Robert graduated from the University of Oxford Medical School in 1965 and then pursued his MRCP. In 1971, he became Clinical Research Fellow at St Christopher’s Hospice, where he worked under Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement. His research questioned the usefulness of the ‘Brompton Cocktail’, the standard in cancer pain management at the time (which contained, in some formulations, heroin, cocaine, ethyl alcohol and chloroform water). His research led to the abandonment of the Brompton Cocktail in favour of modern drug therapies. He was Consultant Physician-in-Charge of Sir Michael Sobell House from 1976 to 1987. In 1988, Sobell House was designated the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Palliative Cancer Care, and Robert served as its Director from 1988 to 2005.
It was also in 1988 that Robert took up the Macmillan Clinical Readership in Palliative Medicine at the University of Oxford and was made Senior Research Fellow at St Peter’s College. As a Senior Research Fellow, Robert did not regularly teach St Peter’s students. However, he took an interest in our medical students and conducted an annual International School for Cancer Care palliative care course at the College, making possible world-leading education for palliative care practitioners around the world. Robert and his wife Deirdre also enjoyed attending services at the College Chapel, where he occasionally preached. In 2001, Robert was elected to an Emeritus Fellowship of the College.
Robert was a founding member of multiple medical societies, including the International Association for the Study of Pain, Association for Palliative Medicine (UK), Palliative Care Research Society (UK), the British Lymphology Society and the European Association for Palliative Care. He was also a founding author of the Palliative Care Formulary. In 2001, he co-founded palliativedrugs.com to provide independent drug information for health professionals around the world. He had numerous publications to his name, including what became the standard introductory palliative medicine text, Introducing Palliative Care. In a 2021 interview with the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, Robert reflected on his career with words that epitomised his philosophy as a practitioner, researcher and educator: ‘Listen, listen, listen! Let the patient tell their story. Palliative care is a partnership between the patient and the family and the caring team.’
Robert will be remembered as a foundational and inspirational figure in the field of palliative medicine and the hospice movement. Our thoughts are with his wife Deirdre and children Alison, Judith, Fiona, John and David, and their families and friends.
The funeral will take place at 10.30am on Friday 15 November at All Saints’ Church, Lime Walk, Headington, and the service will be lived streamed for those unable to attend in person (click here for the livestream).