Hospital launches new radiotherapy treatment

NEW radiotherapy technology hoped to revolutionise the way some cancer patients are treated, is being launched at the Berkshire Cancer Centre.

Based at Reading’s Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, the therapy can be more effective than traditional radiotherapy for some cancers because it delivers a more powerful, targeted beam of high energy X-rays directly to a tumour.

This means the tumour receives a very large dose in fewer treatments and fewer visits to the department for patients.

Initially it will be used to treat lung cancer patients but the trust plans to roll it out for more patients in time.

Dr Joss Adams, SABR clinical lead said it is a “very precise and effective radiotherapy technique” that will bring big benefits to patients.

Professor Colin Baker, head of radiotherapy physics and SABR project lead said introducing the technology is a “great achievement for the team”, involving hard work from radiographers, clinical oncologists and medical physicists.

The Berkshire Cancer

Centre was also the first

NHS site in the south of England to introduce Surface

Guided Radiation Therapy (SGRT).

This eliminates the need to put permanent markers, such as tattoos, on a patient’s body to aid treatment set up.

Steve McManus, chief executive of the RBH said he is “thrilled” the team are “leading the field in the treatment and care of cancer patients”.

He added: “They have put in a huge amount of work to ensure everything is in place and ready to be launched this week, and to achieve this while dealing with the demands placed on us by covid has been a real credit to everyone involved.”