About eye proton therapy
Eye proton therapy is a type of radiotherapy that can treat some cancers of the eye. It uses low-energy proton beams to target the cancer very precisely without damaging surrounding tissue.
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre is home to the UK’s National Centre for Eye Proton Therapy. It is located at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Wirral.
Eye proton therapy works by sterilising the tumour (cancer) cells so that they can no longer grow. The results vary depending on the size and position of the tumour but – particularly for small tumours – the success rate is extremely high.
About 40% of all UK patients diagnosed with a type of eye cancer called ocular melanoma will have eye proton therapy here.
Patients are referred to us from all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.
The National Centre for Eye Proton Therapy
Our eye proton therapy service began in 1989 thanks to funding from Joseph K Douglas, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Cancer Research Campaign and local charities.
The National Centre for Eye Proton Therapy is in the JK Douglas Building at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Wirral.
Before your first visit to Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Wirral, you will usually have a video appointment with your specialist cancer consultant (oncologist). Your consultant will be responsible for your care while you are with us. If a video appointment is not possible, we will arrange a face-to-face appointment instead.
This appointment is your chance to ask any questions and discuss any concerns you have about the treatment. After this appointment, you will be asked to sign a consent form which will be sent to you by post – or by email for video appointments. Please bring a copy with you to your simulation appointment (explained in the next section) if possible.
Our patient coordinator will also be in touch with you to arrange your simulation appointment and to help with any travel queries, hotel bookings or worries you may have. If you do not live locally, we will make arrangements for you to stay at one of the local hotels.
After your initial appointment, you will come to Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Wirral for a simulation appointment.
This appointment helps to prepare you for your treatment. It also gives us all the information we need to plan your treatment accurately.
You will meet the therapeutic radiographers and a medical physicist who will plan your treatment.
The appointment can take around 2 hours. During this time, we will make a mask. This is so we can make sure your head stays still and in a reproducible position during your treatment. We will take photographs and measurements. If you have had metal clips inserted before treatment, we will also take some x-rays.
No treatment is delivered at this simulation appointment. While you are here, we will give you your next appointment to return for treatment.
You will come back to Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Wirral for treatment roughly 3 weeks after your simulation appointment. In that time, we will produce a treatment plan specially designed for you. The plan is also checked by the consultant ophthalmologist who referred you to us.
The Monday of the treatment week is called final simulation. Again, no treatment is delivered. This is a final run-through to make sure we are happy with the plan before we proceed with your treatment.
Treatment starts the following day – you will have four daily treatments from Tuesday to Friday.
The radiographers will set up your treatment exactly how it was during simulation, except you will have 2 drops of local anaesthetic into your eye. This will reduce the amount you need to blink so it is more comfortable for your eyelids to be positioned.
The whole treatment procedure from start to finish takes about 30 minutes each day. The rest of the day is then yours.
We would not expect the treatment to make you feel unwell. Proton beam therapy might make your eye or eyelid red and sensitive. This redness will vary from person to person, according to which part of your eye is being treated.
Any side-effects will only affect the treated eye – not any other part of your body.
Your doctor will discuss treatment side-effects in more detail with you during the appointment where you consent to have treatment. If you have any questions during your treatment, the radiographers will be happy to help.
Your treatment reaction will carry on for four to six weeks after your treatment has finished – you will have to take special care of your eye and eyelids during this time.
You will be given eye drops to use during and after treatment – continue to use them as directed.
When you have had your last treatment on the Friday, you can return home. You will not need to return to the National Centre for Eye Proton Therapy after your treatment.
The ophthalmologist who referred you to us will now take over your care. You will have a follow-up appointment with your local hospital or referring centre roughly 6 to 8 weeks after treatment.