In observance of World Radiotherapy Awareness Day on September 7th, Rad Onc on the Run host Brandon Mancini, MD, MBA, spoke with Sandra Turner, MBBS, PhD, to spread awareness of this global dedicated platform for radiation oncology. Their conversation touched upon the movement’s origins, strategies for navigating ongoing access disparities across the world, and other ideas for empowering local advocacy efforts for radiotherapy.
Turner began by outlining the history of World Radiotherapy Awareness Day, which included the selection of September 7th in honor of the first patient undergoing treatment with a modern linear accelerator in 1953 at Hammersmith Hospital. She also described her role as a co-founder of the movement alongside Katie Wakeham, FRCR, PhD, a clinical oncologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Since the beginning, the movement has gained the support of 88 professional radiotherapy societies across the world, including organizations such as the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO).
A part of World Radiotherapy Awareness Day’s vision, Turner described, is dedicated to addressing access gaps, even in wealthier countries, due to misconceptions, inadequate referral pathways, and other obstacles. She noted that approximately 1 in 3 patients in Australia have access to radiotherapy when 1 in 2 is expected based on need, while millions in countries such as Nigeria are underserved due to a lack of functional linear accelerators and equipment. Turner detailed how efforts such as World Radiotherapy Awareness Day can help stabilize these access gaps as the global incidence of cancer continues to rise.
To engage local oncologic communities, Turner highlighted tactics such as hosting morning tea events at hospitals and educational career nights for students. Additional efforts in the future, she said, will prioritize resources for regional leaders to influence government policy and secure investment decisions based on data-driven advocacy.
“I want [the radiation oncology community] to hear and be part of one voice for radiotherapy. We can shift the dial, but we all have to work together. We have either the same or similar problems; we need to talk with the same voice,” Turner concluded. “We need to have simple messages. We need to repeat them again and again, and we need to have confidence and hope that [by] working together, we can make change for the benefit of our patients.”
Learn more about World Radiotherapy Awareness Day here.
Mancini is the medical director at Bold Advanced Medical Future Health, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Radiology at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and the editor at large for RadOnc Review, a supplement of the journal ONCOLOGY®. Turner is a radiation oncologist and clinical professor at the University of Sydney, as well as co-chair of World Radiotherapy Awareness Day.
