Today is International Day of Charity.
So, there’s no better time to announce some wonderful news.
Vertual has chosen Radiotherapy UK as its very first Charity of the Year! One of the leading providers of virtual reality solutions for healthcare training, Vertual will be supporting our patient resources work through its visual software.
The software helps to train radiotherapy professionals, and other healthcare professionals, but just as importantly, helps patients understand what happens during external beam radiotherapy treatment, and why other organs near the treatment area may be affected. The software is also designed to load real patient data and combine it with virtual patient models with different body types, sexes, ages, and skin colours, to support greater inclusion and representation within patient resources.
The video sample included here shows a 3D representation of a patient undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, demonstrating how close the bladder, and rectum sit to the treatment area. This can help patients understand why they need to partially fill their bladders before treatment, and why they may have early, and late effects connected to the bladder and rectum.
Being able to show patients more detail about their treatment is part of RTUK’s mission to empower patients to understand what they can expect from treatment, and what is happening within their bodies. Without that knowledge, our patient engagement and focus groups tell us that treatment can be even more daunting than it needs to be.
Sarah Quinlan MBE, charity director of Radiotherapy UK, said:
“Being chosen as Vertual’s Charity of the Year is so special to us. Cancer patients tell us repeatedly that they long to understand their treatment, and why it may impact organs close to the site of treatment and cause late effects. Vertual will generously allow us to use their innovative software and support us to create videos that show clearly what is happening during radiotherapy treatment and how the body is impacted.
“As we develop our patient resources, we are excited to work with the Vertual team and create accessible, easily understood visuals that empower patients to own their treatment and know why late effects may occur. Our hope is to equip patients with the knowledge they need to reduce some of the fear and stress that comes with a cancer diagnosis. As the first charity to be able to use Vertual’s software in this way, we are truly excited to break new ground for cancer patients.”
Debra Leeves, chief executive of VERTUAL, said:
“Radiotherapy UK is our first Charity of the Year, and we are looking forward to building a strong relationship that will benefit cancer patients. We were struck by Radiotherapy UK’s commitment to supporting patients and felt we could bring our expertise and software to the table to create new patient resources that show, in detail, how treatment can enter the patients’ body to reach cancerous cells.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be devasting for patients, but we hope by working together we can remove some of the ‘unknowns’ around treatment, including the early effects and late effects, and help people understand what they will see and experience when they go for treatment. With 1 in 2 of us destined to be diagnosed with cancer, everything we can do to support will create some good during this difficult life event.”
As well as supporting RTUK’s patient resources, the Vertual team are also planning to support our Christmas Appeal through some fun Christmas activities, and to take part in the Miles for Radiotherapy challenge.
If your organisation would like to support our work, please contact us here.
