Jonathan Waxman

Jonathan Hugh Waxman (born 1951), is a British oncologist. He is the founder and president of Prostate Cancer UK, is emeritus Professor of Oncology at Imperial College London, and author of four novels including The Elephant in the Room. He is a clinician who has helped develop new treatments for cancer, which are now part of standard practice.

Early life Professor Jonathan Waxman, founder and president of Prostate Cancer UK and emeritus Professor of Oncology at Imperial College London. Jonathan Waxman was born in 1951 in Hampstead, London. His father was a psychiatrist who worked at the Central Middlesex Hospital.

Research In 1986, Waxman became a consultant at the Hammersmith Hospital, moving to Imperial College in 2011 where he became the Flow Foundation Professor of Oncology. Prostate Cancer UK lobbies for change in the environment for prostate cancer patients, funds research and provides a national and regional patient support and information service. Prostate Cancer UK is a beneficiary of the Movember Appeal, a multinational organisation dedicated to improving men's health.

Waxman helped establish the All-party Parliamentary Group on Cancer, the organisation behind the Britain Against Cancer movement. He has also written a medical law book, a novel and a book of short stories entitled The Elephant in the Room, published in October 2011.

The Elephant in the Room was inspired by J. G. Ballard, author of Empire of the Sun and Crash. Waxman treated Ballard for prostate cancer until his death in 2009, and their treatment room conversations led to the proposal of a co-written book to be titled Conversations with my Physician: the Meaning, if any, of Life. When Ballard became too ill to complete the book, Waxman decided to finish it in tribute to his friend.

Waxman has written for a number of national newspapers and frequently appears on TV and radio to comment on health matters.

Waxman was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to prostate cancer awareness and treatment.