Rosemere to fund kit to shorten radiotherapy treatment times

The centre at the Royal Preston Hospital is Lancashire and South Cumbria’s regional specialist cancer treatment centre and as such, provides all radiotherapy treatment for the two counties. It has recently purchased a fleet of the latest linear accelerators, which enables it to provide the most up-to-date high dose rate radiotherapy.

The new Rosemere Cancer Foundation funded “Phantom” equipment, which comes with a £8,120.04 price tag, will be used to help medical physicists accurately measure beam dosage and delivery accuracy when planning high dose rate radiotherapy to treat patients with a range of cancers, including brain, lung and prostate cancers.

For patients, this will translate to shorter, more comfortable treatments with less radiation reaching healthy tissue outside the area being treated. Protecting healthy tissue reduces the risk of long-term side-effects, which is especially important for younger cancer survivors.

Miss Natalie Thorp, of the centre’s Radiotherapy Physics Department, who applied to Rosemere Cancer Foundation for the Phantom’s funding, said: “Potentially, hundreds of patients a year from across Lancashire and South Cumbria are set to benefit from the purchase of the Phantom as it will allow us to develop state of the art techniques leading to improved patient treatments and comfort.”

Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer services and treatments to cancer patients throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated not only at Rosemere Cancer Centre but also, at another eight other hospitals across the two counties that look after cancer patients.

For further information on Rosemere Cancer Foundation and its work, including its 20 Years Anniversary Appeal to fund a trio of ground-breaking projects at Rosemere Cancer Centre to mark the 20th anniversary of the centre’s opening, visit its website at www.rosemere.org.uk