Innovative tattoo-free radiotherapy will help those with breast cancer
Today is World Radiography Day and to celebrate we are shining a light on UHDB’s fantastic radiotherapy department and a new innovative treatment they are delivering to cancer patients in our community.
The team at Royal Derby Hospital have been working hard behind the scenes to introduce a Surface Guided Radiotherapy solution which means patients can now still have highly precise treatment but will no longer be left with visible tattoos and marks following treatment.
Traditionally, breast cancer patients have had dots tattooed when receiving treatment to ensure accuracy of treatment, which is a visual reminder and has been fed back that this can be quite emotional for patients, who have the daily reminder of their experiences. The permanent nature of the tattoo means that past patients might not feel comfortable wearing certain clothing or it may cause concerns for cultural reasons.
This new treatment means the team can still offer the same level of precision but can do it completely mark and tattoo free, which is more beneficial to the patient.
Lydia Kedziorek, Senior Radiotherapist, said the Surface Guided technique uses 3D stereo cameras to track the patient’s surface and is highly accurate as it works to submillimetre and sub-degree technology. She said it offers both physical and mental benefits to the patient.
Lydia said: “For a long time we’ve been using a technique called ‘deep inspiration breath hold’ where the patient has to do a deep breath in and hold their breath which moves the cardiac tissue away from the chest wall. This came with its challenges especially if the patient let their breath go or moved slightly.
“The accuracy of this treatment is vital and we could not compromise on that, but the great thing about the Surface Guided Treatment is it will cut off the treatment machine if the patient moves by even a millimetre.
“That allows us to give our breast patients more accurate treatments and also reduce cardiac side effects for patients with left breast cancers.”
For Lydia and the team delivering this innovative new treatment, the feedback she is getting from patients has been extremely positive, especially for female patients who felt the tattoos were a “permanent reminder” of their cancer treatment.
Lydia said: “In the past breast cancer patients would have had three black dots tattooed on them and surgical marker on their skin which we would use to make sure they were in the same position each day for their treatment and it was as accurate as possible, but this new treatment allows us to proceed without that and the psychological benefits to patients are huge.
“There are numerous studies that have looked into the psychosocial aspects of tattoos [for cancer treatment purposes] and one study in particular found that 70 per cent of patients had negative feelings about their tattoos while 78 per cent of patients would prefer to travel somewhere to have tattoo-free treatment.
“Since introducing the Surface Guided Radiotherapy we are seeing this in our day to day where we are treating patients who are coming from other centres so that they can have tattoo-less treatments.”