Abstract Book

S13

ESTRO 37

organize a nursing/RTT consultation. This can be hold before, during or after the treatment. The nurse/RTT is an expert in various domains and supplements the radiotherapist-oncologist by giving specific information about different subjects. In the University Hospital of Ghent, Belgium, women who are irradiated for a tumor in the pelvic region, in addition to the radiotherapist-oncologist, are also guided through their treatment and followed up by a specialized nurse in radiation oncology-cancer care. This person is present during the multi-disciplinary consultation and the CT-sim. Every week, during a ‘nursing consultation’, the patient is asked about possible side effects. Time is given to reflect on nutritional problems, social and sexual problems and questions. The nurse also link back weekly to the radiotherapist-oncologist. This nurse is the liaison between the patient, the other nurses and the doctor. Very specific information regarding the treatment, the side effects, the results of CBCT images, specific considerations about the treatment are always discussed. The patient feels much better informed, experiences to be fully involved . Worldwide, the role of the nurse in radiation oncology or RTT is evolving from technician to specialist. Something we only can be proud of! SP-0034 Learning and evidence based radiotherapy, how can we learn from our patients? S. Petri 1 1 The Finsen Center - Rigshospitalet, Department of OncologySection for Radiotherapy, Copenhagen, Denmark Abstract text In modern health care services, patient experiences are an essential source of knowledge (1). Who knows better than the patient himself, how he experiences illness, treatment and care? Therefore, we have to consider how we can learn from our patients in a more systematic way than is the case today, since the patients' experiences can add substantially to our existing knowledge. Patient experiences should be viewed in a wider perspective than just in relation to the experience and management of side effects; but also in research, quality improvement, direct patient care and other aspects of evidence based radiotherapy. In this presentation the application of patient experiences in evidence based radiotherapy is discussed in the light of existing literature. The impact and challenges of using patient experiences in clinical practice are discussed likewise. Finally the rapidly growing utilization of PRO (PROM and PREM) in health care services, and in particularly in relation to evidence based radiotherapy is discussed. This entails systematic application of patient experiences in toxicity management during radiotherapy. Current and future examples of PROM data in toxicity scoring and management during radiotherapy are presented and discussed. References (1): Black, N (2013). Patient reported outcome measures could help transform healthcare. BMJ. 2013 Jan 28; 346: f167 SP-0035 How to involve patients in the organisation of the department G. Thompson 1 1 University of Sheffield, Faculty of health & Wellbeing, Sheffield, United Kingdom Abstract text I trained as a Therapy Radiographer in 1990, working clinically until 2002 when I moved into Radiotherapy & Oncology education at Sheffield Hallam University. Diagnosed with Stage 2 ER+/HER2+ breast cancer in 2015 and received radiotherapy as part of the treatment

where the majority of staff are either colleagues or past students. The purpose of this talk is to critically evaluate personal experience of the breast cancer pathway and discuss how we can involve patients in the organisation of the department more. I received high quality care on a daily basis and the radiographers made sure a difficult time was made as bearable as possible. However, once treatment ends I feel there is a lack of support and advice moving forwards. Patients struggle to come to terms with the 'new normal' and remaining vigilant to symptoms without being seen as overly anxious is a fine balance to achieve. Speaking as a patient, I believe there is value in patients being utilised to support and advise other patients going through a similar thing - a kind of 'cancer buddy' but with the added benefit of hindsight and experience in managing late effects. Speaking as a health care educator, patients can also be used to assist in student recruitment - they know how they would like to be treated in the department and can work with HEI's and clinical partners to assist in selection events, thereby ensuring we recruit to the highest professional calibre which ultimately improves the patient experience. PV-0036 The effect of tumour laterality on survival for non-small cell lung cancer patients A. McWilliam 1 , E. Vasquez Osorio 1 , M. Aznar 1 , C. Faivre- Finn 1 , M. Van Herk 1 1 The University of Manchester, Division of Cancer Science, Manchester, United Kingdom Purpose or Objective The effect of tumour laterality on the survival of non- small cell lung cancer patients (NSCLC) after radiotherapy has not been investigated. We have performed a laterality analysis on a large cohort of patients treated with curative-intent radiotherapy, including investigating the effect of dose on the left and right lungs. Material and Methods 1101 NSCLC patients were randomly selected from the clinical archive, all patients were treated with 55Gy in 20 fractions. Contours for lungs (right and left combined) and GTV (or motion adapted-GTV, including primary and nodal disease) were present. Tumour laterality was defined by determining whether the centre of mass coordinates of the GTV was on the right or left lung. Individual right and left lungs were segmented from the overall lung contour and mean dose received to each lung computed. The effect of laterality on patient survival was investigated in a multi-variable cox-regression, including patient and tumour characteristics. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were plotted for laterality with a log-rank test used to assess significance. A second multi-variable cox-regression included the effect of dose on the right and left lungs. Results 618 right-sided and 483 left-sided tumours were identified; this ratio is consistent with the difference in lung volume. Tumour volume and patient characteristics were well balanced between left and right sided tumours. Multi-variable cox-regression analysis showed laterality was significant (p<0.01), with right-sided tumours showing worse survival, hazard ratio (HR) 1.25 (95%CI 1.08-1.48), table 1. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve for left versus right-sided tumours showed a significant split with a log-rank p=0.008, figure 1. Median survival was 18 months (95%CI Poster Viewing : Poster viewing 1: Lung