Recognising World Radiotherapy Awareness Day

Reimagining radiotherapy without borders – for more people

A decade of evolutions, a future of possibility

By Mark Middleton OAM, Icon Group CEO

As we recognise the first World Radiotherapy Awareness Day, I reflect on the incredible progress of radiotherapy and how together we need to bring the best radiotherapy treatment possible to more people.

Ten years of progress

Radiotherapy today is not what it was ten years ago.

What began as a broad-field, time-intensive treatment has become a cornerstone of cancer treatment defined by precision, accuracy, compassion and exceptional patient care. The shift has been extraordinary: sub-millimetre accuracy through imaging innovations like Varian’s HyperSight cone-beam CT, IDENTIFY surface-guided radiotherapy, RapidArc Dynamic redefining treatment plans, combined with AI-powered planning tools such as Radformation’s AutoContour, and new treatments and regimes like stereotactic radiotherapy and hypofractionation delivering higher doses in fewer sessions while protecting vital healthy organs and reducing long-term side effects.

These evolutions in hardware, software and techniques are transforming how clinicians deliver care, and better yet – providing patients with a better experience and achieving better patient outcomes.

Radiation therapists, medical physicists, oncologists and oncology nurses are now working in ways that were unimaginable a decade ago – leveraging global networks and AI-enabled planning to bring world-class care to more people, in more places.

The rise of theranostics, blending diagnostic imaging with targeted radiotherapy also represents a leap forward in personalised medicine. From metastatic prostate cancer to neuroendocrine tumours, these treatments offer new hope where few options previously existed.

Icon’s investment in partnerships, theranostics infrastructure, clinical trials, and workforce training positions us to lead this transformation globally.

A borderless workforce

For the next generation of clinicians, this is no longer science fiction; it’s the reality they will and are shaping.

Technology has redefined radiotherapy, but workforce models need to adapt to meet the growing demand. At Icon, we’ve pioneered a Global Agile Radiotherapy Workforce Tool and remote planning services that dissolve geographical boundaries. Our “follow-the-sun” approach reduces planning time by 66% and enables experts across continents to deliver care around the clock.

For radiation therapists, this global network creates new career pathways:

• Opportunities to work across countries without leaving home
• Access to advanced training in advanced techniques like stereotactic and AI planning
• Career progression supported by digital innovation and international collaboration

We’ve proven that through a connected network stereotactic radiotherapy, no matter how remote a centre, can be implemented effectively and with no compromise to quality. Every one of our global sites can now deliver this cutting-edge treatment, with new services commissioned in as little as six weeks. Remote commissioning, peer-to-peer learning, and global training initiatives are helping build capacity, and address workforce and skills shortages in every corner of the world.

At Icon, we see careers in radiotherapy as careers of purpose, mobility, and impact. Whether in a metropolitan centre, a regional community, or through global collaboration online, our teams are the bridge between innovation and patient care – turning the dial on cancer care and giving new hope.

As a radiation therapist and CEO, I’ve seen first-hand the power of radiotherapy to transform lives, and the disparities that continue to exist in access to this lifesaving treatment. That’s why we’re getting behind this world awareness day and continuing to push on in our mission to deliver the best possible care.

Best care possible

We’re not just building cancer centres; we’re building a global healthcare ecosystem. One that reimagines radiotherapy and comprehensive cancer care as borderless, collaborative, and deeply human-centred. One that invests as much in people as in technology. And one that sees every career in radiotherapy as part of a much larger mission: reshaping cancer care for people, families and communities.

Let’s stand behind one voice for radiotherapy for every person going through cancer.

Learn more and get involved visit World Radiotherapy Awareness Day website and flick through the below infographic.