A new innovative surface guided radiotherapy (SGRT) system will soon be installed at the Sunrise Centre thanks to £500,000 worth of funding.

The money has come from the Sunrise Appeal – an independent charity that raises funds to provide support to The Sunrise Centre to ensure it continues to provide cutting edge cancer treatment. 

The new system will help deliver better radiotherapy treatment and experiences for cancer patients in Cornwall.  

Janet Shephard, trustee at the Sunrise Appeal and previous cancer services manager at Royal Cornwall Hospital, said: “We are delighted to approve this grant to the Sunrise Centre. 

“This system will help keep radiotherapy in Cornwall at in the forefront of treatment and techniques.”

The Sunrise Appeal is a registered charity which relies entirely on public donations to ensure that the people of Cornwall continue to receive the most up-to-date care and treatment available in the UK. 

Nikki Snell, senior radiographer at the Sunrise Centre, said: “We are really proud that the Sunrise Centre will be able to offer SGRT, which will make a huge difference to both patients and our brilliant care team here at the centre. 

“It will mean radiotherapy treatment at the Sunrise Centre will be more accurate, and ultimately will provide a better experience for all involved.”

Surface guided radiotherapy uses a camera-based system and light projection to allow the radiographers to position patients with enhanced accuracy. 

A camera projects light onto the patient’s skin, compares their position to the planned position, and then creates coordinates that the radiographers use to adjust specialist “six degrees of freedom” couch tops (which were also funded by the Sunrise Appeal) to move the patient to the correct position for treatment. 

The system also monitors the patient’s position when treatment is being delivered and automatically shuts off if it detects movement, making the treatment safer for patients. 

In the future, this system will also allow some patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancers to wear an open face mask, rather than closed ones that cover the entire head and face. 

Masks are designed to hold the patient’s head and neck still in exactly the right position during radiotherapy, but some patients refuse treatment using closed masks due to claustrophobia. 

This new system will allow an accurate alternative option for some of these patients, and will also result in some patients having no permanent skin marks from their treatment.

Nikki added: “We are delighted because the SGRT will improve treatment and experiences at the Sunrise Centre. 

“The system is more accurate than using the three tattooed skin marks we currently use for targeting alone – and some patients will be able to receive treatment without the marks entirely, meaning there will be no visible lasting reminder of their treatment. 

“It also reduces the need for manual handling, which will be better for both the patients and the radiographers.”

Janet said: “The Sunrise Appeal continues to raise funds in order to provide funding for innovation and development at the Sunrise Centre, ensuring that gold standard cancer treatment remains available within Cornwall into the future.

“We are delighted to have been able to fund SGRT which will make a huge difference to patients. It will help ensure treatment is as accurate and accessible as possible, and enable the continued development of new techniques.”

The SGRT system is the latest Sunrise Appeal-funded project to come to the centre, which houses some of the most state-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment and offers the most up-to-date treatment. 

Since 2001, the Sunrise Appeal has raised more than £3m and donated over £2.7m to the Sunrise Centre for buildings and equipment, as well as granting bursaries of £128,000 to the staff working there. 

This has ensured that the Sunrise Centre continues to provide outstanding services within Cornwall, and has enabled the trust to recruit and retain staff of the highest quality.