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PRESS RELEASE Tuesday 19 May 2015 UK cancer recovery charity supports study comparing radiotherapy with proton therapy for children “This study is an important step to improving paediatric cancer treatment and survival” says Dr Henry Mandeville, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden. An Anglo-American research study that aims to measure and report on the quality of life of children with cancer following different forms of radiotherapy, has received £65,000 for its work at The Royal Marsden in London, UK, and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA. The funding, from the Cancer Recovery Foundation UK and its US-based sister charity, the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation, will support the two hospitals’ research into ground-breaking proton radiotherapy. Recent research, including a 2012 report published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, has shown that cancer survival rates for children have increased to around 80 per cent. However, treatment often leaves the survivor with chronic and debilitating medical conditions that impair their quality of life and can even lead to premature death. Proton radiotherapy is a relatively new treatment that enables clinicians to target the cancer treatment more precisely, so that it delivers a smaller, but more concentrated, dose to the tumour. Unlike traditional radiation, it does not exit into the area around the tumour and this containment potentially reduces the risk to the patient. The study will enable researchers at The Royal Marsden, in collaboration with their academic research partner The Institute of Cancer Research, London, to gather information on patients’ quality of life by asking them to fill out a questionnaire about their photon radiotherapy treatment at The Royal Marsden. The funding will allow a Clinical Nurse Specialist to help deliver the questionnaire and collate the data for one day a week, which will ultimately be compared to questionnaires on patients’ experiences of undergoing proton therapy in the US. Patrick Tonks, CEO of the UK charity, says: “Radiation therapy provides essential treatment for children with tumours, but often has serious, long-lasting side effects, including an adverse impact on the normal healthy tissue surrounding the tumour. That is why we are so pleased to be able to support this study by The Royal Marsden and its research partner in the US. “This Anglo-American research study is the first to compare the use of proton radiotherapy and traditional radiotherapy for the treatment of the paediatric brain tumour medulloblastoma,” he adds, “and we eagerly await the findings of their research into this ground-breaking technology. We hope that this will be the start of a long and fruitful relationship with The Royal Marsden and that their cancer patients will also be able to benefit from the wide-ranging support that the Cancer Recovery Foundation UK can provide.” Dr Henry Mandeville, Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden, and lead investigator for the study in the UK, adds: “This study is an important step to improving paediatric cancer treatment and survival. It will both inform the debate on proton radiotherapy and clarify its role in the management of paediatric cancers. “In this era of escalating healthcare costs and budgetary constraints, it is essential that the value of new medical technologies be measured and proven by comparing the health outcomes between old and new technologies.” -endsFor more information please contact: Helen Pearson Communications & Marketing Executive, Cancer Recovery Foundation UK 0207 470 8755, [email protected] or Vicky Hartley, PR and Communications Manager, The Royal Marsden, 020 7808 2107, [email protected] Notes to editors: About the Cancer Recovery Foundation UK Cancer Recovery Foundation UK aims to help people prevent and survive cancer. It is dedicated to helping cancer patients and their families through a variety of support services offering financial security, hope and practical advice. These services include the provision of Survivor Packs, developed after interviews with more than 16,000 cancer survivors about what they need and what really helped them. The packs provide information on nutrition, exercise, physical rehabilitation and mental health. The charity’s Children’s Cancer Recovery Project focuses on simple acts of care and kindness to children and their families experiencing cancer. It includes the Bear-able gift bag programme, the only regular, national donation of gifts to children in hospital/hospice care in the UK. Gifts are specially selected to make extended hospital stays more “Bear-able” to distract and reward children during treatment and create happier childhood memories. Other services provided by the charity include the Cancer Recovery Foundation Fund, which offers assistance to people who are struggling financially as the result of a cancer diagnosis and its International Aid programme, working in partnership with hospitals in developing countries; sharing ideas about integrative care with the medical staff and supplying otherwise unavailable medicines directly to the hospitals. For more information please visit www.cancerrecovery.org.uk About the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation in the USA Headquartered in Harrisburg, PA with a division in The Woodlands, TX, the Children’s Cancer Recovery Foundation supports children under 18 and their families facing the hardships of cancer. The foundation performs acts of care and kindness through the following programs: Bear-Able Gifts (largest distributor of gifts to children with cancer in the U.S.); Toxic-Free Kids (educates families on the dangers of environmental toxins); New Era Cancer Research Fund (funds research for less toxic, minimallyinvasive paediatric-cancer treatments); International Aid (provides medications and supplies to clinics in developing and impoverished countries); Helping Hands Fund (provides emergency financial assistance to families); and Camp Scholarships (allows children in remission to reconnect with activities they love). With a national paediatrichospital partner network of 215+ locations, the foundation directly helps more than 15,000 children affected by cancer and their families every year. Please visit www.childrenscancerrecovery.org Photographs available on request.