[1st September 2025]

The 7th of September 2025 marks the first ever World Radiotherapy Awareness Day (WRAD) – a global initiative to ensure that radiotherapy receives the recognition it deserves within cancer care strategies.

Radiotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for cancer and is an essential part of modern oncology. The launch of WRAD is an important step in highlighting its role, as well as advocating for equitable access to radiotherapy services worldwide. This campaign will be supported through educational events, international collaborations, and advocacy at major oncology and radiotherapy conferences worldwide. Including the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) congress and The Royal College of Radiologists annual conference (RCR).

The WRAD campaign is united under the slogan “One Voice for Radiotherapy”, emphasising the global need to champion this essential treatment. Its messages call for:

  • One Voice for every patient to have access to modern radiotherapy
  • One Voice for curing cancer and easing suffering with radiotherapy
  • One Voice for raising awareness of radiotherapy as a safe and effective advanced treatment
  • One Voice for well-educated and skilled radiotherapy teams
  • One Voice to make lasting change for cost-effective global cancer control through radiotherapy

The Pelvic Radiation Disease Association and World Radiotherapy Awareness Day

As a charity supporting people living with the late effects of pelvic radiotherapy, Pelvic Radiation Disease (PRD), we also strongly recognise the benefits of radiotherapy in treating cancer. Our aim is not to oppose its use, but to ensure that, as well as advocating for the long-term effects of pelvic radiotherapy to be prevented, predicted, or minimised, late effects services are seen as a vital part of radiotherapy care.

We strongly believe that informed consent is essential for everyone undergoing radiotherapy. The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) national radiotherapy consent forms, published in 2021, represent a significant step forward in establishing consistent, comprehensive, and patient-centred consent processes across the UK. While not mandatory, we encourage their use as best practice, ensuring patients receive clear and transparent information about their treatment – including potential late effects – and supporting fully informed decision-making. You can find out more here: Informed Consent and Late Effects of Radiotherapy

Equally important is the provision of integrated, comprehensive late effects services for patients after treatment has ended. Everyone who undergoes radiotherapy should have access to services that include psychological support and holistic care across all NHS regions. This forms part of a wider initiative to strengthen supportive oncology care across primary, community, and secondary settings. It involves equipping patients with resources to self-manage where appropriate, creating clear care pathways, investing in staff education, and building research capacity.

To achieve this, we are calling for:

  • Clear, accessible care pathways for patients.

  • Investment in staff training and education.

  • Greater resources to help patients self-manage where appropriate.

  • Stronger research capacity to better understand and address late effects.

On this first World Radiotherapy Awareness Day, we celebrate the central role of radiotherapy in cancer treatment and join the global call of “One Voice for Radiotherapy.” For us, that also means highlighting the importance of informed consent and ensuring that no patient is left without the long-term support they need – during treatment and beyond – with late effects services recognised as a vital part of radiotherapy care.

Have your say

We’d love to hear from you – whether it’s your thoughts on informed consent, what World Radiotherapy Awareness Day means to you, or what you hope the campaign will achieve. Share your experiences and ideas, especially on how we can ensure radiotherapy continues to save lives while minimising late effects, so future patients have the clearest information and the best support possible.

“When I had radiotherapy 12 years ago, I wasn’t fully informed about the potential late effects. The treatment did its job and cured my cancer, but it also caused significant damage to healthy tissue. I want to see a world where everyone has access to the most effective radiotherapy with the fewest possible late effects.” – anonymous community member, living with PRD.

Get in touch and have your say.