Thousands of patients with cancer receiving radiation treatment will now be able to consult a new DVD specially produced by the Health Service Executive (HSE) which will explain every step of the treatment to them including possible side effects.
Understanding Radiation Therapy - A Patient Pathway was written and directed by radiation oncology department staff at Cork University Hospital (CUH) and sponsored by the Irish Cancer Society.
According to Derry Little, service manager, radiation oncology department CUH, the 30-minute DVD, which was filmed in the hospital's radiation/ oncology department, is the first patient educational DVD specific to radiotherapy to be released in the State.
Ms Little said the DVD aims to assist and educate patients who are considering or preparing for radiotherapy, explaining the planning and treatment process, the equipment used, side effects, what happens after treatment and answering a range of commonly asked questions.
"The DVD aims to ensure that patients and their families are made fully aware of what radiation therapy involves. The step-by-step explanation of treatment in the DVD complements the information given to patients by the radiation oncology department staff.
"It also allows patients to view the information at their leisure with family members or friends so that they too can better understand the patient's treatment," said Ms Little, adding that the DVD has already been on loan to all new patients at the radiation oncology department at CUH.
"Now it's going nationwide but the feedback about the DVD from patients here at CUH has been very positive. Patients and their families found the information easy to understand, feel better prepared and therefore less anxious about the treatment.
"We are delighted it will now be distributed around the State by the Irish Cancer Society so that patients with cancer can avail of the resource," said Ms Little, adding that last year some 2,000 patients received radiotherapy treatment at the Cork hospital.
Understanding Radiation Therapy - A Patient Pathway has been distributed to hospitals and hospices around Ireland and is available on the Irish Cancer Society's website: www.irishcancersociety.ie (see cancer information - "treatments").
A copy of the DVD can be obtained by phoning the ICS freephone number: 1800 200 700.