Radiotherapy

Cancer services

Locations

Contact

Outpatients appointments: 020 3311 1612

Visitor Information

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Visiting

Our radiotherapy service is the main NHS provider of radiotherapy in north west London. We primarily treat patients with cancer, but we also use radiotherapy to treat patients with benign conditions where appropriate. We are one of only 52 radiotherapy centers in the UK and are part of the London Cancer Alliance. We’ve been at the forefront of implementing new treatments, including intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), cranial stereotactic radiotherapy and deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) radiotherapy. We also have the latest treatment technology available for all our patients, including two state-of-the-art Varian ‘Truebeam’ linear accelerators, which combine advanced 3D imaging with precise radiotherapy delivery, and a unique CT scanner that provides exceptional image quality with the lowest possible radiation exposure.

Treatments

Radiotherapy uses high-energy, targeted radiation to treat and try to cure cancers. This is called radical radiotherapy or curative radiotherapy, in which the full dose of radiation is delivered in a number of small doses called fractions, which are delivered through several treatment sessions. Almost half of all people with cancer will have radiotherapy at some point during their treatment pathway. However, radiotherapy does not cause cancerous tumours to shrink immediately and it can take some time for the beneficial effects to become apparent. These effects will depend on the type of cancer, other treatments that may be given alongside (such as chemotherapy or surgery) and how advanced the tumour is when treatment begins. For people with incurable cancers, radiotherapy is a very effective method of controlling symptoms – this is called palliative radiotherapy, and it is delivered in fewer treatment sessions.

The majority of treatment is given by the use of external beam radiotherapy, and most external beam radiotherapy is given using a linear accelerator machine (LINAC). Radiotherapy can also be used before surgery to shrink a tumour so it's easier to remove (known as neoadjuvant treatment), or after surgery to destroy small amounts of tumour that may be left (known as adjuvant treatment).

There are many different types of radiotherapy. Each type of cancer is different and each patient is unique, so your treatment team will consider all treatment options carefully and develop a specialised treatment plan for your condition. Our dedicated facilities provide the latest advanced technical radiotherapy expertise including:

Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT): A form of radiotherapy that shapes beams of radiation around the tumour and varies the strength of each beam, lowering the dose of radiation that reaches healthy cells
Image guided radiotherapy (IGRT): Using x-rays and scans of the tumour site taken immediately before or after a radiotherapy treatment, a radiographer can carefully target treatment to a tumour and reduce the amount of radiation delivered to healthy tissues
Cranial stereotactic radiotherapy: This technique directs narrow beams of high-dose radiation at small tumours, ensuring a precise dose is delivered directly to each tumour
Gynaecological brachytherapy: This is a specialised technique that delivers radiotherapy directly to the inside of a woman’s womb
Deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) radiotherapy for left-sided breast cancer: This technique uses deep breathing to protect the heart during certain radiotherapy treatments
Total body irradiation (TBI): A form of radiotherapy treatment that is delivered to a patient’s whole body to treat certain types of cancers
Gated radiotherapy for lung cancers: A specialised technique that incorporates a patient’s respiratory motion to deliver targeted radiotherapy treatment to certain tumours
4DCT scans: A specialised scan that captures detailed moving images

Clinics

Radiotherapy clinic at Charing Cross Hospital

At Charing Cross Hospital, radiotherapy is located in a dedicated radiotherapy block, which is situated right next to A&E and has an entrance on St Dunstan’s Road.

Address

Radiotherapy department
Ground floor
Charing Cross Hospital
Fulham Palace Road
London W12 8RF

Contact information

Phone: 020 3311 1612
Email: imperial.RadiotherapyBookings@nhs.net

Radiotherapy clinic at Hammersmith Hospital

At Hammersmith Hospital, the radiotherapy department is located in the Garry Weston Centre.

Address

Radiotherapy department
Garry Weston Centre
Hammersmith Hospital
Du Cane Road
London W12 0HS

Contact information

Phone: 020 3311 1612
Email: imperial.RadiotherapyBookings@nhs.net

Meet the team

Head of speciality

Dr Muzamil Asif (consultant clinical oncologist and clinical lead for radiotherapy)

Head of radiotherapy

Mark Elsworthy (professional lead for therapeutic radiographers)

Head of radiation physics and radiobiology

Claire Hardiman (medical physics expert, radiation protection advisor and co-chair of Trust Radiation Safety Committee)

Consultant clinical oncologists

Dr Muzamil Asif (clinical lead for radiotherapy)
Dr Danielle Power (clinical director for oncology and palliative care)
Dr Riz Ahmad
Dr Suzy Cleator
Dr Alison Falconer
Dr Steve Mangar
Dr Ed Park
Dr Sarah Partridge
Dr Pippa Riddle
Dr Dorothy Gujral
Dr Matt Williams
Dr Kitrik Perry
Dr Dolan Basak
Dr Waqar Saleem
Dr Waleed Mohammed
Dr Tzveta Pokovska
Dr Charlotte Kelly
Dr Saima Nazir

Patient information

Before your appointment

You should expect to receive a phone call with your appointment details within 48 hours of your consultant submitting a referral for radiotherapy. You are welcome to bring a relative, close friend or carer with you to your appointment, but in order to retain the privacy and dignity of other patients, your companions may be asked to wait in the main waiting area when you are called to the treatment machines.

You are welcome to ask for a chaperone to be present in the treatment room while you are being positioned for treatment but the chaperone will be asked to leave the room whilst treatment is delivered. Many of our radiographers, medical staff and students are male, so if you wish to be treated by just female or just male staff, please let the radiographers know. We will do our best to accommodate your request.

We suggest you wear older clothes, particularly to your planning session, because staff will need to put pen marks on your skin to identify the area for treatment, and the ink may rub off on your clothes. The ink will eventually fade – there is no need to replace the ink marks yourself. You will be asked to remove any clothing that covers the area requiring treatment – gowns and changing cubicles will be made available to you. We will provide you with specific instructions if there is anything else you need to do before your appointment.

During your appointment

Please note that we are a teaching hospital, so medical students and radiotherapy students may be present for some appointments. If you do not wish to have them in the room please let the radiographers know and the students will be asked to step outside.

We aim to see you within 30 minutes, but delays occasionally occur – we will keep you informed of these. Generally, appointments take 15 to 30 minutes, but please allow up to 90 minutes for your planning appointment, as you will have the opportunity to discuss your treatment with your radiographer, and you should allow plenty of time for questions.
Your first appointment will be your planning appointment, during which your radiographer will explain the treatment to you and give you the chance to ask any questions. You will then be given a CT scan, where we will take x-rays of the area of the body to be treated. We will use these images to create a personalised three-dimensional treatment plan for you.

During your subsequent treatment appointments, a radiographer will again explain the treatment and position you carefully on the treatment couch using the marks and measurements from the planning sessions. You will be asked to keep still and breathe normally. The radiographer will then leave the room to switch on the machine, and then watch your treatment closely on a television monitor. Rest assured that the treatment is painless and only takes a few minutes.

While the radiotherapy itself is painless, some patients develop side effects with the treatment. Doctors and team members will discuss all possible side effects with you before starting treatment. Most side effects are temporary and manageable with the support of the clinical team.

After your appointment

After the initial CT planning appointment, you will be given the start date for your radiotherapy treatment appointments. On the last day of your radiotherapy you will be told about a follow-up appointment with your doctor. You will also be given written information to take away with you. The follow-up appointment will normally be about four to six weeks after the end of treatment.

Patient facilities and resources

Questions about treatment side effects?
We have a team of nurses and review radiographers available to support you through your treatment. Alternatively, you can speak to your dedicated clinical nurse specialist, who can be contacted through the Macmillan navigator service.

Radiographer review team: 020 3311 8804
Radiotherapy nurse: 020 3313 0706
Radiotherapy reception telephone: 020 3311 1737 (08.00 to 18.00, Monday through Friday)

For urgent medical advice outside working hours, please contact the on-call clinical oncology (radiotherapy) registrar.
Phone: 020 3311 7866

Macmillan navigators

As part of the Macmillan Cancer Support and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust partnership, we’ve introduced the Macmillan cancer navigators service.

Macmillan navigators offer a single phone contact for all cancer patients. They can help with booking appointments, accessing local support services and finding answers to any questions. Please call the Macmillan navigators team with any questions you have about your cancer care. Learn more about Macmillan navigators.

Patient information leaflets

Additional information

Education and elective placements

Elective placements are provided for radiotherapy students. Please contact either Suzanne Harrow (suzanne.harrow@nhs.net) or Sindy Singh (sindy.singh1@nhs.net).

The radiotherapy department at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust takes radiotherapy students from University of Hertfordshire. For further information please contact Sindy Singh (sindy.singh1@nhs.net).