by B Camanzi
(STFC and University of Oxford)
Cancer is a leading cause of mortality in the UK, with 293000 new cases, and 155000 deaths, every year. The UK lags behind in the battle against the disease: 5000 more lives would be saved every year if the UK had the same outcomes as the world average. For these reasons, the Department of Health has made cancer a priority, with the latest strategy, -Y´Improving outcomes: a strategy for cancer¡, published in January this year.In this talk I will review the current state-of-the-art in cancer diagnosis and radiotherapy. I will highlight how much of the current technology comes from physics. I will then look at the future and at the technological challenges laying ahead of us, giving examples of how physics can help to address these challenges.