Laura Sheridan
Hi, I’m Laura, an Advanced Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist in Breast Cancer Rehabilitation, Lymphoedema and Scar therapy. I’m passionate about helping all patients to live well with and beyond cancer.
I currently work at my home clinic in Knutsford – Laura Sheridan Breast Cancer Physio – and I am the team lead for the breast cancer physiotherapy service at The Alexandra Circle Health Hospital in Cheadle. It has been a privilege to work alongside some of the top oncology breast surgeons and plastic surgeons in the country for the past 10 years. My goal is to ensure that all breast cancer patients have access to highly specialist physiotherapy care and treatment to ensure patients can achieve their goals and have a high quality of life whilst living with and beyond cancer. Alongside my clinical practise I also teach oncology masterclasses in breast cancer rehab and lymphoedema to physiotherapists working with oncology patients across the whole of the Circle Health Group hospitals in the UK.
I qualified as a physiotherapist in 2008 and I started my career working on the sarcoma (bone and soft tissue cancer) team at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London where I developed a special interest in oncology. Over the past 18 years I have gained a wealth of experience across all aspects of physiotherapy whilst working at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, The Royal Marsden Hospital, and The Walton Centre NHS Trust. I also have a broad range of international experience; in 2010 I spent a humbling period in Uganda volunteering as a physiotherapist for a children’s charity where I helped develop their therapy service to help children with neurological conditions. This strengthened my commitment to delivering compassionate, patient-centred care in all settings. I also worked in Singapore for two years in 2013-2014 at Changi General Hospital and Sports Medicine Centre as Team Lead for a large musculoskeletal physiotherapy outpatient team. This experience strengthened my advanced clinical reasoning and holistic evidenced based rehabilitation with a diverse patient group. On return from Singapore, via a five-month travel period in Asia Pacific, I returned to work in the NHS. It was here due to my oncology background that I began seeing referrals for breast cancer patients who were previously left with pain, restriction of movement and decreased quality of life following breast cancer treatments. This motivated me to further develop my breast cancer knowledge and skills to ensure I could provide patients with the highest quality evidence-based effective treatment. For the past 10 years I have worked at The Alexandra Circle Health Hospital as team lead of the Breast Cancer Physiotherapy Service and have recently set up my clinic in Knutsford, Cheshire.
Setting up my own private clinic at home – Laura Sheridan Breast Cancer Physio – is now enabling me to reach more patients and provide them with holistic compassionate evidence-based treatment for patients who have undergone surgeries such as mastectomy, axillary node clearance, sentinel node biopsy, wide local excisions and breast reconstructions – implant and autologous including DIEP reconstructions. I am also passionate about providing prehab and rehab to patients undergoing cancer treatments – chemotherapy, radiotherapy and endocrine therapy – as exercise significantly helps patients to cope better with these treatments and reduces their side effects.
I pride myself on providing a safe space during my appointments so I can address all aspects of my patient’s wellbeing and to treat patients so then they can achieve their goals and improve their quality of life.
Having had cancer, myself I know first-hand how important it is for people to get the right support to enable them to live well with and beyond cancer.
Outside of work I am a proud and busy mum to three energetic young children and love to spend time in my happy place – outdoors in nature, hiking and cycling with my family.
Professional Memberships
Member of the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) – Member Number PH89974
Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP)
Member of MLD UK (Manual Lymphatic Drainage UK)
Member of Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Oncology and Palliative Care) ACPOPC
Qualifications
BSc (HONS) Physiotherapy
CanRehab Physiotherapist
Specialist Lymphoedema Management Training with the Lymphoedema Training Academy
Willem Fourie’s Connective Tissue Breast Cancer Course
Restore Scar Therapist
Pink Ribbon therapist
APPI Pilates therapist