For the first time ever, patients at The Christie are benefitting from a revolutionary radiotherapy treatment which dramatically cuts treatment time, whilst better targeting the tumour.

The Christie is now one of only two cancer centres in the UK, the other being the Royal Marsden in London, to offer this Elekta VMAT™ technology which also allows patients to be given a higher dose of radiotherapy in the safest possible way. The Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology on the Wirral is the only other place that offers an equivalent technique using different technology.

Radiotherapy is delivered by a £1.3 million rotating machine called a linear accelerator which sends X-rays through the tumour. Previously a single radiotherapy treatment could take up to 15 minutes as the machine would stop periodically to deliver radiotherapy - but the new technology allows this to be done in one continuous rotation. It not only reduces treatment time to around two minutes but also means more patients a day can be seen.

Patients needing radiotherapy have to have the treatment every day - sometimes up to five weeks or longer and The Christie runs one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world, treating over 400 patients a day.

Physicist Dr Carl Rowbottom, who has been leading on the treatment at The Christie, said; "We're starting this state-of-the-art treatment first of all to patients with prostate cancer and feedback has been fantastic. Patient care is extremely important to us and we're always looking at new ways to improve the patient experience and offer the very latest treatments.

"This new technique is much better for patients, it's quicker, they're more comfortable as they don't have to keep still for long periods of time so it reduces stress all round and they're treated in next to no time at all. It also means we're able to see more patients a day. It's much more effective at targeting the specific site of the tumour whilst sparing adjacent healthy tissues of radiation."

"We hope to expand the technology in the future so we can offer it to patients with other forms of cancer. Our new radiotherapy centres, currently under construction in Oldham and Salford, will also be capable of treating prostate cancer patients in this way."

65 year old Jim Eastwood from Whitworth, north of Rochdale, is one of the first patients to benefit from this technique. The retired productions operator was diagnosed with prostate cancer in May this year after having had an operation on his gall bladder.

He said; "When I found out I had prostate cancer I was really upset, I've been married to my wife Elaine for 44 years and have two kids and two grandkids, I've got everything to live for.

"I was told I could have surgery or be treated with this new procedure. As I'd just had an operation, I didn't want to undergo anything invasive again, so it seemed perfect for me.

"Having to have any sort of treatment is never pleasant, but this is over before you know it and there are hardly any side effects. I'm in extremely capable hands and feeling positive about the future."

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