employs three to eight high-dose radiotherapy sessions in the treatment of early-stage, medically inoperative lung cancers. This radiotherapy is different from that of traditional radiation, which normally requires between 20 and 30 sessions. Patients who receive SABR medication have been found to have lesser adverse effects, as well as fewer hospital visits.
The first patient to get the new radiation treatment at the RUH was the 80-year-old Peter Wood from Bath. Peter expressed optimism over receiving new treatment. He said, “I’m very happy to have been offered this course of treatment and it’s marvellous that it’s here in my local hospital and really convenient. The treatment itself is fairly comfortable, apart from having to keep completely still for an hour, and I’ve not noticed any discomfort or after-effects. As for the staff – they’re brilliant.” Peter was hailed as a model first patient by Advanced Practitioner Therapeutic Radiographer Alice Potter.
Radiotherapy service manager, Lisa Tolson, expressed delight about the new service. She said that the inoperable lung cancers now have an answer. She said, “It’s fantastic that we are now able to provide our patients with this world class service. The biggest benefit is that it will improve cancer cure rates for those patients with inoperable lung cancer. She added, “We are also able to offer the treatment to some patients whose disease has spread to their lungs more than six months after their original treatment. We’re always looking at ways to further improve the care we provide to our patients and I’d like to thank everyone at the RUH who has worked, and trained, so hard to ensure we can provide this ground-breaking treatment”.
