Editorial - Cancer themed edition

Welcome to this themed edition of Radiography, which is devoted to the topic of cancer, a prevalent and distressing disease that is at the heart of much radiographic practice. The incidence of cancer continues to increase and currently stands at 265,000 new cases a year in England. This figure may not be surprising to readers; however, what is probably less well known is that radiotherapy contributes to 40% of cancer cures but only consumes 5% of the English cancer budget. Access rates (to radiotherapy) are contested but it is likely that up to 50% of people diagnosed with cancer would benefit from a course of radiotherapy at some point during their patient journey. The number of imaging examinations related to the diagnosis and management of people with cancer has not been quantified but readers of this journal would probably agree that it forms a significant proportion of the work of diagnostic imaging services.