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Isabel Mestres: Making Radiotherapy a Top Priority

Isabel Mestres/LinkedIn

Sep 9, 2025, 10:20

Isabel Mestres: Making Radiotherapy a Top Priority

Isabel Mestres, CEO of the City Cancer Challenge (C/Can), shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Yesterday was World Radiotherapy Awareness Day

Radiotherapy is one of the most effective cancer treatments: 50–70% of patients will need it, yet in many LMICs , access is still limited. Patients face long waits, too few machines and specialists, and uneven quality standards.

That’s why City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) we are making radiotherapy a top priority across all our cities. Together with city leaders and partners, such as, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) we are:

Developing strategic plans for radiotherapy services (infrastructure, workforce, training)
Establishing quality assurance programmes to ensure safe and effective treatment
Designing training syllabus for medical physicists and technologists
Rolling out multidisciplinary training with American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Sharing tools and guides (in English and Spanish) to help cities plan, implement, and sustain radiotherapy services

Impact in action: In Paraguay, C/Can supported experts to build a national radiotherapy plan, which directly informed the expansion of services under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Rays of Hope initiative, a model of how city-driven action can drive national change.

What’s next: We are applying our Health System Readiness approach to radiotherapy, ensuring that when partners provide equipment, the systems, people, and quality programmes are in place to make every investment count for patients.”

Isabel Mestres: Making Radiotherapy a Top Priority