UK’s first proton therapy patient salutes ‘new era’ in cancer care

The first patient to be given high energy proton beam therapy in the UK today spoke about how the treatment could transform cancer care for thousands of patients across the country. Simon Hardacre received treatment for prostate cancer at the Rutherford Cancer Centre in Newport, South Wales, which is currently the only clinic in the UK where high energy proton beam therapy is available.

He said: “Being treated at the Rutherford Cancer Centre South Wales meant that I was only a half-hour drive from home during treatment, and I could go about my daily life.”

“It’s brilliant that we now have a world class facility here in the UK where patients like myself can be treated. This was a game changer for my own cancer treatment, and I’m sure that this will transform the outlook for many other patients up and down the country.”

Attendees at Wednesday’s event included the Mayor of Wokingham Borough, Councillor John Kaiser, as well as Sir John Madejski, the Vice Chairman of Reading Football Club. They were joined by Professor Richard Ellis, the Director of Health Partnerships at the University of Reading, and Gordon Storey, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire.

Dr Jason Lester, the consultant oncologist who treated Mr. Hardacre at the Rutherford Cancer Centre, said: “Treating the first person in the UK with high energy proton beam therapy is a significant event, and it opens up a new frontier for treatment in the UK.

“In the case of Mr. Hardacre, we feel really positive about the way he coped with treatment. He will need regular check-ups in order to monitor his progress, and it was great to see him benefit from having treatment so close to home with minimal disruption to his daily life. We hope Mr. Hardacre is the first of many to see the benefits from proton beam therapy treatment here in the UK.”

Proton Partners International is currently building Rutherford Cancer Centres in Northumberland, Reading and Liverpool and plans to build eight centres in the UK to provide a treatment centre within 90 minutes of 75% of the population. The centres will be able to provide cancer patients with proton beam therapy treatment as well as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, imaging and wellbeing services.

There are more than 90,000 cancer patients in the UK every year who are treated with radical radiotherapy. Proton Partners International believes around 10% of patients treated with radical radiotherapy – the figure accepted at European level - could be better treated with proton therapy.

Proton beam therapy is particularly effective for tackling hard-to-reach tumours, as well as the treatment of children, as it reduces damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Mike Moran, chief executive officer of Proton Partners International, said: “For us, it is hugely important that patients are treated as close to home as possible, and it’s great that this year the country will have significant facilities available to patients. The NHS is opening a proton beam therapy centre soon in Manchester and our own facility will be operational shortly after in Northumberland.”

Treatment at the Rutherford Cancer Centres is open to self-funded and insured patients, as well as NHS patients should we be commissioned to provide proton beam therapy for them.

UK's first proton therapy patient salutes 'new era' in cancer care