More facts about the campaign

Radiotherapy means the use of 'radiation', usually X-rays, to treat illness. Around 4 in 10 people with cancer (40%) have radiotherapy as part of their treatment. It can be given in various ways from outside the body (external radiotherapy) and from within the body (internal radiotherapy).

Radiotherapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment, and around half of all patients should receive radiotherapy as part of their treatment

If you have questions about radiotherapy, please visit
http://cancerhelp.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/treatment/radiotherapy or call our nurses on
0808 800 4040 from 9-5 Monday-Friday.

We believe that everyone deserves the best cancer treatment but some patients are missing out on the chance to get the radiotherapy that might help treat their cancer. The Voice for Radiotherapy campaign aimed to make sure that world-class radiotherapy services are available to everyone who needs them.

Half of all cancer patients could benefit from radiotherapy yet a Cancer Research UK survey of more than 2,000 people revealed just 14% are aware of this. We’re concerned that the lack of public awareness means that radiotherapy does not receive the attention it needs to develop as a world-class service in the UK.

We want the public, the NHS and politicians to know just how important radiotherapy is for cancer patients. Thanks to everyone who has helped us in this goal by signing the petition and sharing it with friends.

An action plan for England

We’re calling on the Government to make sure that radiotherapy services in England are amongst the best in Europe.

To tackle unequal access to radiotherapy, we need to make sure that all services have the:

Appropriate workforce:

We need a service that is adequately staffed to make sure we can take advantage of exciting advances in radiotherapy. There are concerns that pressure on the NHS to find efficiency savings may mean that vacancies in the workforce are not replaced or that training budgets may be stretched, leading to a shortage of sufficiently trained staff to deliver this complex service. Dedicated, highly skilled radiotherapy staff need our support so that they can deliver the most advanced treatments to improve outcomes for patients in the future.

Best treatments:

Radiotherapy is a very cost-effective treatment for cancer. Newer radiotherapy treatments are more targeted with fewer side effects, but these treatments are only available in certain parts of the country. Although the UK is one of the world leaders in the development of new radiotherapy techniques, we are currently lagging behind comparable countries in making these treatments available.

Everyone deserves the best cancer treatment. Every cancer patient should be able to access the most appropriate radiotherapy treatment for them, regardless of where they live. Currently the delivery of radiotherapy services differs around the country and we know that in regions of higher deprivation, fewer patients with cancer receive radiotherapy. We need your help to support local radiotherapy centres to work together and with national government to ensure that all patients have access to the radiotherapy they need.

Capacity to plan for the future:

Radiotherapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment, and this will continue long into the future. The demand on radiotherapy services is likely to grow in the future, due to our ageing population and better diagnosis which means more cancers are caught at a stage at which they can be effectively treated. An action plan for radiotherapy must be part of a long-term vision to build an adaptable, effective service for the future. This will not only mean making resources available for new machinery and increases in workforce, but also ensuring that current equipment is replaced as appropriate.

On 3 November, we took over 36,000 signatures to Number 10 Downing Street to make sure that David Cameron heard how important this issue is to you. Keep an eye on this site for updates on the Government’s response.

This campaign set out our ambitions for improving radiotherapy services in England.

We are committed to making sure that the best radiotherapy services are available across the UK.

In the run up to the devolved nations’ elections we ran our Commit to Beat Cancer campaign which focused on making cancer a political priority. Our ambition is to make cancer outcomes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland among the best in Europe in the next 10 years. Without world-class treatments, including radiotherapy, we won’t be able to achieve this.

As a research based charity, all of our campaigns are firmly grounded in evidence, and this campaign is no exception. In 2009 we published a report which looked at the state of radiotherapy services in the UK, drawing on reports published in each of the four nations of the UK; this included an analysis of current capacity and made recommendations for improvement. You can find this report by clicking here.

Workforce. Cancer Research UK detailed the current vs. required staff numbers in radiotherapy in our 2009 report. While we acknowledge that work is being done to address these shortages, this still remains a barrier to service development.

A recent report to the National Radiotherapy Advisory Group noted vacancy rates across the country lie at around 10%. We hear from health professionals and managers within the service that this shortage of staff is hampering their ability to introduce new technologies within the NHS, particularly Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT). Further to this, a survey of radiotherapy staff carried out by Cancer Research UK and the Society and College of Radiographers in November 2010 showed that workforce was one of the biggest barriers to introducing new technologies

Equipment and treatment. We know what we don’t have the right equipment to deliver world-class radiotherapy. Although the majority of patients will now receive their radiotherapy treatment within acceptable waiting times, some centres are still not meeting these targets and some patients still have to travel too far for their treatment

The National Radiotherapy Advisory Group report published in 2007 noted that 91 additional linacs (linear accelerators – the machines which deliver radiotherapy) would need to be in place by 2016 to meet demand. Commissioning against this target in England has been slow and more work needs to be done.

In recognition of the need for more machines, the recent government document ‘Improving Outcomes: a Strategy for Cancer’ includes provision to increase the number of radiotherapy machines across England.

If you would like any more information about the campaign, please get in touch at campaigning@cancer.org.uk.

Evidence quick reference:

• Achieving a world-class radiotherapy service across the UK (Cancer Research UK, 2009)
• Radiotherapy: developing a world class service for England (The National Radiotherapy Advisory Group, 2007)
• Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer (Department of Health, 2010)
• Radiotherapy in the new health environment (Cancer Research UK and the Society and College of Radiographers, 2010)