Helen Allan is Professor in Nursing at the Centre for Critical Research in Nursing & Midwifery, Middlesex University, London, UK. She was awarded her PhD in 2000 from the Royal College of Nursing Institute/University of Manchester and has supervised PhD and clinical doctorates since 2002.Anne Arber is Senior Lecturer in Cancer and Palliative Care, School of Health Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK. She was awarded her PhD in 2004 from Goldsmiths, University of London, UK. She conducts research in cancer and palliative care and has supervised PhD and clinical doctorate students since 2004.