THOUSANDS of cancer patients are missing out on access to radiotherapy and few people know it can help cure the disease, a charity said today.
At the moment, almost 40% of patients in the UK receive radiotherapy but around 50% could actually benefit.
Some 30,000 cancer patients may therefore be missing out on the treatment, which Cancer Research UK says has “Cinderella status”.
A survey for the charity published today found only one in 10 people knew radiotherapy helps cure 40% of cancer patients.
Just 14% of 2,000 people polled were aware that half of all cancer patients could benefit from radiotherapy as part of their treatment.
The poll also found that other treatments, such as new drugs, surgery and chemotherapy, are generally regarded as more “cutting edge” than radiotherapy.
According to Cancer Research UK, one of the problems with radiotherapy is that accessing the right equipment varies between hospitals and staffing is an issue. Even patients who are offered radiotherapy can wait a long time for treatment and public awareness of the role it plays is low.
The charity said the UK lagged behind the US and the rest of Europe in introducing newer, more targeted types of radiotherapy.
One of these is intensity modulated radiotherapy, which uses computers to ensure radiotherapy is targeted directly at the cancer tumour, thereby minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue.
Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, Harpal Kumar, said that services had improved but more needed to be done.
He said: “Radiotherapy has a key part to play in treating and curing around 40% of cancers so it’s vital there is good, fast access to this service.
“Radiotherapy has improved substantially over the last 10 years but there are vital areas that need to be addressed to help deliver the best treatment for patients.”