Light therapy helps ease pain for cancer patients

Neck and head cancer patients will be able to seek a new treatment to ease the pain of radiotherapy and chemotherapy

Cancer patients at a hospital trust have started using light therapy to help them with side effects caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Head and neck cancer patients have been offered photobiomodulation treatment (PBM) at the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT).

The initiative has been set out to prevent or treat oral mucositis, which can occur when cancer treatments have damaged the lining of their mouths.

Jenny Gale, radiotherapy sister at Colchester hospital, said: "Evidence shows patients need less pain relief when they’ve had PBM, and they generally cope with their treatment better."

Tony Bell was among the first patients to have PBM at Colchester hospital

PBM has been offered to head and neck cancer patients who have had radiotherapy at Colchester and Ipswich hospitals.

The treatment is used by applying infrared light to tissue and it is able to reduce inflammation and improve healing.

Glenn Martin and Tony Bell were among the first patients to have PBM at Colchester.

Mr Bell, who has tongue cancer, receives radiotherapy once a day and chemotherapy once a week.

Regarding the light therapy, he said: “It was a breeze. I'm grateful to be able to have it.

"I've had a very sore mouth, so much so that I've been liquid feeding. The worst thing is that [treatment] cripples your taste buds."