Radiotherapy is one of the mainstays of modern oncological treatment – more than half of cancer patients need it. However, radiation treatment is still accompanied by concerns and inaccurate ideas about how it is carried out and what it means for the patient. Eliminating these concerns is one of the goals of World Radiotherapy Awareness Day, which falls on September 7th every year.
This year's Prague program will therefore allow the public to see directly the workplace where radiotherapy is planned and carried out. Experts from several hospitals and the Faculty of Nuclear and Physical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague (FJFI CTU in Prague) are participating in the event in cooperation with the Ask a Scientist project. Visitors will learn what precedes the radiation itself, how the treatment is planned, how the radiation devices work and what role individual members of the multidisciplinary team play in the entire process.
FJFI has been involved in the development of radiotherapy in the Czech Republic for a long time. The Department of Dosimetry and Application of Ionizing Radiation educates experts in the field of medical physics who become key members of teams in oncology departments. It also collaborates with hospitals and scientific institutions on projects that contribute to the modernization of treatment methods and the safe use of radiation in medicine.
“It is important to raise awareness of radiotherapy as a safe, effective and advanced part of comprehensive oncological treatment. But also about the role of the medical physicist, who is largely involved in improving technology so that radiation reaches as little as possible into healthy tissue around the tumor. One of our key research projects is to take into account the movement of the tumor, for example, by breathing, which would lead to more precise targeting of radiation and thus to a reduction in the side effects of treatment,” explains doc. Ing. Petra Trnková, Ph.D. from the Department of Dosimetry and Ionizing Radiation, FJFI CTU in Prague.
From treatment planning to radiation therapy rooms
From 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, participating Prague radiotherapy centers will offer guided tours and practical demonstrations.
The Oncology Department of the 1st Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and the Thomayer Faculty Hospital will present to visitors radiotherapy workplaces, radiation devices, such as the classic C-arm Linac, and the method of treatment planning. The program will also include information on the importance of radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer and on prevention. Visitors will be able to meet members of the team, which consists of doctors, radiological physicists and radiological assistants.
The General University Hospital in Prague will offer a guided tour of the radiotherapy workplace, including a presentation of the preparation, planning and the actual course of radiotherapy treatment. Visitors will also see the specialized O-ring Linac Radixact radiation technique and will be given space to ask their questions.
The Central Military Hospital - Military Faculty Hospital Prague will present the principles of radiotherapy and the work of radiation oncologists, radiological physicists and radiological assistants. The program will include a presentation of the CyberKnife technology, a practical demonstration directly at the workplace and a space for visitors to ask questions.
Visitors who complete the program at all participating Prague workplaces can also enter a competition for a small gift.
Evening at Jaderc
The program will continue at 6 p.m. at the FJFI in Břehová Street. The evening will be opened by doc. Petra Trnková with a lecture "Radiation Oncology with a Sense for Tumor", in which she will present radiotherapy and radiation oncology from an unusual perspective through commented excerpts from the Czech Television series.
The Ask a Scientist debate will begin at 7 p.m., moderated by Barbora Šmídová. Ing. Simona Šimůnková, MUDr. Pavel Škrobánek and doc. Petra Trnková will join the discussion.
World Radiotherapy Awareness Day
World Radiotherapy Awareness Day is an international initiative that recalls the essential role of radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer and also draws attention to the importance of the experts who provide this treatment. It falls on September 7, the anniversary of the day when a patient was first treated with a clinical linear accelerator in 1953. For the period 2025–2027, the initiative uses the motto “One Voice for Radiotherapy” and strives, among other things, to improve public awareness and the availability of safe and effective radiotherapy.
Practical information
Open day at participating radiotherapy departments in Prague (3:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.)
Oncology Department of the First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University and the Thomayer Faculty Hospital
General Faculty Hospital in Prague
Central Military Hospital – Military Faculty Hospital Prague
Faculty of Nuclear and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague Břehová 7, Prague 1
6:00 p.m. – lecture “Radiation Oncology with a Sense of Tumor”
7:00 p.m. – debate Ask a Scientist