Cutting-edge cancer treatment has arrived in Peterborough, allowing patients to receive specialised care closer to home.

Peterborough City Hospital has begun offering Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) to suitable patients.

This high-dose mechanism, previously available only at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, efficiently treats small bone and lymph node cancers.

Peterborough City Hospital's first patients have received this specialised radiotherapy, treating bone and lymph node oligometastases.

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Tags for small secondary cancers numbering fewer than most or a single, solitary lesion, the new process brings relief to many in the locality.

Eligibility for the treatment is defined by specific criteria set by the consulting oncologist.

Those who stand to benefit include patients already on the cancer pathway.

The North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust can now offer this advanced treatment to patients within its catchment area, saving them travel and inconvenience.

All Trust staff meet the required standard to plan and deliver this treatment.

Lead SABR dosimetrist, Jaak Joe, played a significant role in the introduction of this process.

Mr Joe said: “Offering this service locally is vital for patients in our area who previously needed to travel to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for this cutting-edge treatment.”

The addition of SABR makes North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust the go-to for patients with solitary metastases.

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Joe added: “NHS England has been expanding the service for SABR for a number of years and after being accredited through a rigorous validation process, the radiotherapy department at Peterborough City Hospital has now successfully implemented in the department as a standard technique.”

This technique accompanies the already established lung SABR service, offering curative treatments to early-stage lung tumours.

All three hospitals under the umbrella of North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust - Peterborough City Hospital, Rutland and Stamford Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital- can now brag of this new inclusion to their lists of services offered.