Course report

Kraków, Poland, 19-23 October 2025

A radiation therapist’s perspective

Hello, my name is Sarah, and I am a radiation therapist working in the pre-treatment unit of the Radiotherapy Department of Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark. 

I have been working in the department for five years, and this was my first attendance at an ESTRO course. 

I was initially a little worried as to whether the delineation part of the course would be too technical for me, as I do not work with it in my unit. My worries were swiftly laid to rest by an extremely competent faculty that was composed of radiation therapists, medical physicists and radiation oncologists hailing from all over Europe.

The teaching environment was relaxed and interactive; many topics were presented by all three groups of professionals.

Many topics were covered in this course, ranging from pre-treatment imaging modalities, motion management, radiobiology, error management and the use of artificial intelligence in radiotherapy, to name but a few. Prior to attending the course, we were given delineation homework, which contributed to keeping the engagement in the room high. I had to prepare beforehand, but getting the opportunity to try out registration on the mock-up Elekta system proved to be a worthy challenge, as I am accustomed to working only on Varian’s system.

I was very impressed with the faculty members’ professionalism, wide knowledge, and eagerness and willingness to engage with participants during the entirety of the course, during either topic discussions or the much-needed coffee breaks.

The visit to the local proton centre at Bronwice was a highlight in terms of the 3D-printed bolus that was used there, the 3D compensators (left picture) and the amazing eye-room (right picture).

     

 

 

The greatest highlight of the course for me was, without a doubt, the opportunity to get to know other participants and to hear about their clinics and practices. This could happen only because the duration of the course and being there in person enabled participants to become more comfortable with sharing their experiences as the days went by.

I exchanged LinkedIn and email contacts with a number of participants to maintain the good connections we made and to continue sharing our knowledge and practices.

I have strongly recommended the course to my colleagues and hope they can attend next year. If you have the opportunity, do consider attending; you will leave with a greater appreciation and understanding of the intricacies of your respective areas of work.

 

Sarah Fortin Jørgensen

Radiation therapist, Pre-treatment unit

Rigshospitalet

Copenhagen, Denmark

sarah.fortin.joergensen@regionh.dk