Raising awareness
of the benefits
of radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is undervalued and needs greater investment, according to our new published report. Entitled Radiotherapy: seizing the opportunity in cancer care, the white paper recommends a five-point plan to boost uptake of radiotherapy and calls on all stakeholders – governments and policymakers, healthcare professionals, patients and professional societies, along with national and international research funds – to become ‘radiotherapy ambassadors’ to help raise awareness of the benefits of radiotherapy and secure its valuable position in comprehensive, optimal cancer care.
The report’s authors cite shortages of high-quality equipment, variations in training, insufficient integration of radiotherapy into treatment plans, lack of investment in research, lack of general understanding of radiotherapy as a cancer treatment and misconceptions regarding the safety of radiotherapy among the important factors contributing to radiotherapy’s poor image and underuse.
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The report has been launched to coincide with the anniversary of the birth of Marie Curie, as part of the Marie Curie Legacy Campaign launched in 2017. Marie Curie pioneered research into ionising radiation, which laid the foundation for the use of radiation in cancer treatment
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The White Paper has been endorsed by:
A few facts about radiotherapy
SAVES LIVES
Radiotherapy SAVES LIVES – and is a key part of curative treatment for many types of cancer.
IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE
Radiotherapy alleviates cancer symptoms, such as pain, and IMPROVES patients’ quality of life.
ONE MILLION
By 2035, if every cancer patient who needs radiotherapy has access to it, almost ONE MILLION more lives will be saved every year worldwide.
Animation apropos radiotherapy
There is a large gap between the actual and optimal utilisation of radiotherapy, with huge variations between different countries. As part of our drive to ensure high-quality radiotherapy is available to all who need it, we have launched a new animation. The animation highlights the importance of radiotherapy as a pillar of high-quality cancer care and the role it plays in saving more lives.
This animation has been produced as part of the Marie Curie Legacy Campaign - an initiative of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and the ESTRO Cancer Foundation (ECF).
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