Our radiotherapy department is one of the largest in the South of England. We see patients from Hampshire, Dorset, Berkshire, Wiltshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex and the Channel Islands.

We also have a satellite radiotherapy centre in Basingstoke.

What is radiotherapy?

Radiotherapy treatment can be prescribed for several reasons: to cure cancer, to relieve any symptoms, or prior to a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.

It works by destroying any cancer cells in the target area.

Normal cells may be also become damaged, but unlike cancer cells they can repair themselves after the treatment.

How we use radiotherapy

Radical radiotherapy

We often use radiotherapy to destroy a tumour and cure cancer. This is called radical radiotherapy.

Radical radiotherapy might be delivered on its own, before or after surgery or given alongside a course of chemotherapy.

The course of treatment may take between two and seven weeks. This will be delivered in small doses which generally take place from Monday to Friday.

The small doses delivered daily, allow healthy cells in the area to recover from any damage caused by the radiotherapy.

There are two main ways that radical radiotherapy can be delivered:

External beam radiotherapy - a large machine called a Linear accelerator (Linac) delivers beams of radiation to the affected area.
Internal radiotherapy (brachytherapy) - solid radioactive material is positioned inside your body, close to or inside the tumour. This material might be something that will be removed after a set time, or it might be something that will stay in your body but will lose its radioactivity after a few weeks. We normally use brachytherapy to treat cancer of the cervix, womb, vagina or prostate.

Palliative radiotherapy

You may be prescribed a course of palliative radiotherapy to relieve any symptoms or help with any pain. This would usually involve lower doses of external radiotherapy, over a shorter period, or sometimes only using one treatment.