Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2026
Radiation Planning Assistant - A Web-based Tool to Support High-quality Radiotherapy in Clinics with Limited Resources
Published on: October 6, 2023
Waiting times for radiotherapy--a survey of patients' attitudes
Margot Lehman1, Susannah Jacob, Geoff Delaney
1Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Background And Purpose:
To determine the maximum time cancer patients were willing to wait for radiotherapy.
Patients And Methods:
Using a trade-off technique (TOT) the maximum time patients were prepared to wait for treatment at the centre closest to home before electing to transfer their care to a centre located (1) at a distance necessitating an extra 30 min travelling each day (MWT 1) or (2) at a distance necessitating staying away from home for the duration of therapy (MWT 2) was determined. A TOT was utilised to determine the loss in treatment effectiveness (LIE 1, LIE 2) patients were willing to accept as a consequence of their MWT 1 and MWT 2 choices.
Results:
The median MWT 1 was 4 weeks while the median MWT 2 was 8 weeks. A longer MWT 1 was associated with increasing patient age and a problem with travelling an extra 30 min. Symptomatic patients were less likely to accept a longer MWT 1. The MWT 2 increased as the expected duration of treatment increased but patients in regional areas were less likely to accept a longer MWT 2. The majority of patients indicated that they were unwilling to accept any loss in treatment effectiveness. Patients who had a problem with travelling an extra 30 min daily or who were unable to drive were willing to accept a loss in treatment effectiveness.
Conclusions:
This study provides an estimate of the waiting times cancer patients are prepared to accept for radiation therapy and suggests that cancer patients are unlikely to trade-off effectiveness for convenience.
