[18th August 2025]
The Pelvic Radiation Disease Association (PRDA) welcomes the recent joint calls from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) for urgent investment in acute and supportive oncology services, amid warnings of a growing “postcode lottery” in cancer care.
In recently published statements, both the RCP and RCR emphasise the need for a more joined-up, fully funded approach to cancer services across the entire patient pathway – from diagnosis and treatment to long-term recovery and survivorship.
The term Supportive Oncology, as outlined in these reports, goes well beyond palliative care. It encompasses a wide range of specialist services that improve quality of life for cancer patients during and after treatment. Crucially, this includes Late Effects services – essential support for those managing the long-term physical and psychological consequences of cancer and its treatment which or course includes people living with Pelvic Radiation Disease.
The RCR’s position paper explicitly includes Late Effects services as a core element of Supportive Oncology, alongside services like cardio-oncology, psycho-oncology, and endocrine-oncology (RCR report, page 5). While the RCP report does not reference Late Effects services directly, the implication is clear: these services are integral to a comprehensive, patient-centred cancer support system.
Without significant and consistent investment in these supportive services, the quality and availability of care remains deeply uneven across the UK, leaving many patients without access to the expertise and rehabilitation support they urgently need.
This unified call from the RCP and RCR provides a timely and authoritative foundation for advocating better funding and integration of Supportive Oncology services – especially those, like Late Effects, that are too often overlooked.
Statement from the PRDA board
The Pelvic Radiation Disease Association (PRDA) supports optimal care and treatment for everyone affected by Pelvic Radiation Disease (PRD).
The importance of comprehensive survivorship care cannot be overstated, especially as increasing numbers of individuals are living longer following diagnosis and treatment. Supportive Oncology services address the multifaceted needs of survivors, including the late effects of treatment, ranging from multiple physical symptoms to psychological concerns that require targeted support and resources.
Late Effects services are specifically included in the RCP’s position paper as a core element of Supportive Oncology. The recently published report New South West Radiotherapy Late Effects Service transforms patient care for cancer survivors – SWAG Cancer Alliance clearly illustrates the crucial role that Late Effects services play in improving health outcomes for cancer survivors, with the potential for significant cost savings on the NHS. However, access to the specialised, person-centred care offered by these services is limited and variable across the country, and all too often we hear from patients who are unable to get the care and support they need to manage the complex radiotherapy-related complications of their treatment for cancer.
PRDA strongly supports this unified call from the RCR and RCP for more investment in these essential services and calls for the acceptance of PRD as a serious problem and given the attention it warrants.
Statement from Dr Clair Higham, PRDA Medical Advisory Panel
“I see these new recommendations as a very welcome development in the field of Supportive Oncology. As a clinician and researcher working for the last 15 years with patients who have pelvic radiation disease, particularly those suffering from radiotherapy related fractures, I have had many conversations and discussions with patients about the current barriers to effective care. Patients describe a lack of appropriate attention to their complex symptoms, difficulty accessing accurate and speedy diagnostic tests, challenges and inequalities in referral pathways and finding appropriate expertise and ultimately a lack of research and evidence based approaches to prevention and management of these potentially devastating consequences of treatment. I therefore totally support this “call to arms” and the proposed “investment in workforce, training, and integrated care pathways” that would help to support patients with PRD in hospital, in the community and at home.”
Dr Claire Higham, Consultant Endocrinologist, Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Senior Lecturer, University of Manchester