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Precision cancer treatment 'a huge game-changer'

Caroline Robinsonand
Jen Smith,South West health correspondent
News imageBBC The image shows a man in a hospital gown. He is looking at the camera with a hint of a smile. He has grey hair. Behind him is a wall with a forest on and a white wall with white cupboards. BBC
Stephen Dwyer-Lapthorne is the first man in Torbay and South Devon to receive the new treatment

Advanced high-powered precision radiotherapy has been called a "game-changer" for patients in the South West by charity Prostate Cancer UK.

In June 2026 NHS England announced the technique called SABR (stereotactic ablative radiotherapy) would target the disease more effectively than standard radiotherapy and help reduce side-effects.

Torbay Hospital said Stephen Dwyer-Lapthorne has become the first man in Torbay and South Devon to receive the treatment, following a diagnosis of localised prostate cancer in October 2025.

Dwyer-Lapthorne said he would encourage other people to use SABR if it was available to them because it was "all over much more quickly".

Dwyer-Lapthorne said: "It's better to only have to do that five times as opposed to 20 times.

"I'd wanted a shorter treatment, and I'd read about the SABR treatment.

"Then luckily, as I was preparing for a planning scan, the oncologist came down, and said, good news Torbay has now commissioned SABR.

"I only have one session left of the planned five sessions, and right now, I don't feel anything, other than slightly fatigued, although I'm expecting potential side effects later," he added.

News imageThe image shows a woman with shoulder-length brown hair. She is wearing a red top, blue blazer and blue lanyard. She is smiling at the camera. She is standing indoors and behind her are fire doors and a corridor.
Naomi Hopkin, head of radiotherapy at Torbay, said they were "delighted" to deliver the treatment locally

Of the 55,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK, around 17,500 are deemed low or intermediate risk.

Naomi Hopkins, head of radiotherapy at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: "This national rollout is fantastic news for patients giving Stephen and thousands of other men with a low or intermediate risk of prostate cancer access to SABR.

"They're going through a really tricky time of their life, having cancer treatment, but instead of attending maybe say for 20 treatments patients can now attend for five."

She added: "We are delighted that we are delivering prostate SABR locally, helping patients receive their treatment closer to home without needing to travel far."

News imageThe image shows a Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy machine. There is a person inside the machine lying down. There is a man and a woman dressed in hospital uniform operating the machine.
Meg Burgess from Prostate Cancer UK said the treatment would help people "get back to life as quickly as possible"

Meg Burgess, a specialist nurse with Prostate Cancer UK, said: "This is a huge game changer for patients and for the NHS as well."

She said standard radiotherapy involved 20 doses over a four week period but this would bring it down to five sessions over two weeks.

"It means that men can get over their treatment and get back to life as quickly as possible," she added.

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