How We Help Patients Receiving Radiotherapy Treatment in Sussex

What is Radiotherapy Treatment?

Radiotherapy is a  cancer treatment that uses high-energy rays, such as x-rays. It destroys cancer cells in the area where it is given and is a very targetted and carefully planned treatment. You may have radiotherapy on its own, or you may have it combined with chemotherapy (chemoradiation). For some types of cancer, you have radiotherapy after surgery (adjuvant radiotherapy), to lower the risk of it coming back. Some people may have radiotherapy before surgery (neo-adjuvant radiotherapy) to shrink the cancer and make it easier to remove.

How Does The Sussex Cancer Fund Help Radiotherapy Patients In Sussex?

The Sussex Cancer Fund supports the radiotherapy clinics at The Sussex Cancer Centre (BSUH Royal Sussex County Hospital), Preston Park Radiotherapy Centre & the Eastbourne Radiotherapy Centre. Our support involves the purchasing of specialist equipment, the provision of additional services, refurbishment projects and funding cancer research.

Some of the equipment & services we have supplied to the Radiotherapy Centres include:

• Free onsite car park in Brighton for patients
• Free tea and coffee for patients
• Treatment/procedure trolleys
• Telephone headsets for nurses to speak to patients at home especially needed during the COVID pandemic
• Cookbooks with recipes and advice for patients with little appetite or difficulty in swallowing
• Therapeutic massage
• Acupuncture to help relieve the side effects of treatment
• Magazines
• Thermometers
• Radiotherapy books
• Water Bottles – for pelvic patients
• Additional equipment to upgrade Radiotherapy machine
• Special Gowns & Pyjamas, to help preserve patients’ dignity and comfort
• Kneefix cushions – immobilisation equipment for patients receiving treatment
• Breastboards – immobilisation equipment for patients receiving treatment
• Bladder scanners
• Refurbishment of waiting areas
• Music system to relax patients & provide privacy
• Water Bath for Forming Thermo Plastic Material

Projects we have been involved with to help Radiotherapy Patients include:

One of our most recent projects was the new ‘Fast-Forward’ radiotherapy treatment project. This project allows women with breast cancer to undergo radiotherapy treatment in just one week of treatment sessions compared to the traditional three weeks has now gone live. The new regime can be considered the new standard of care for a majority of breast cancer patients. The Sussex Cancer Fund is delighted to have made participation in this and other studies possible by funding a research role and providing grants for research projects.

The Sussex Cancer Fund was also instrumental in a project to make treatment for patients with specific cancers more efficient by buying two bladder scanners. The bladder scanners are used to determine whether a patient has consumed enough water to produce a full bladder which is required for some treatments. By only initiating treatment when patients are at their optimum full state, saves time and valuable resources and limits set-up time. You can read more about the project here.

The charity’s most ambitious project is the Macmillan Horizon Centre which we have built-in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Care & BSUH. The Cancer Support Centre opened in November 2016 and is being used by 100s of our patients regularly.

Our aim is to provide the best possible care for cancer patients in Sussex, if you would like to support us in our mission please use the donation button below.