World Radiotherapy Awareness Day: Building on the Campaign’s First Year

World Radiotherapy Awareness Day (WRAD) was launched on September 7, 2025. This date was chosen in remembrance of the day that the first patient was treated on a dedicated clinical linear accelerator in 1953. The WRAD initiative was founded by a small number of radiation oncology volunteer enthusiasts from around the world who aimed to synchronize and amplify the work already happening to raise awareness of our powerful and vital treatment. As we know, gaps persist in people accessing radiotherapy leading to many lives being lost unnecessarily and thousands of others living with pain and poor quality of life. In some parts of the world, the chasm between people who would benefit from radiotherapy and those able to access it is enormous.

The inaugural WRAD

The first World Radiotherapy Awareness Day surpassed our team's wildest expectations. By September 7, 2025, over 70 radiation oncology professional organizations from all over the world had officially partnered with WRAD, and website traffic in the first three months had totaled >9,000 unique visits from 109 countries. Forty-eight registered events (and many more unregistered) were held around the world. WRAD was featured in 51 media/TV stories, journal/newsletter articles, podcasts and videos. WRAD social media platforms recorded >330,000 impressions in weeks leading up to September 7, with an enormous spike on the day.

The momentum has been building ever since, with presentations at the recent ESTRO meeting in Stockholm amongst others. We have also received industry funding to employ a project manager and media support.

Theme and goals for WRAD 2026

The overarching theme of "One Voice for Radiotherapy" was chosen for the first three years. It allows people to be creative in how they choose to mark the day, ensuring relevance for the communities they work with, whilst uniting everyone in raising awareness of the value of radiotherapy, and the global need for related education and investment. In 2026, we're working to engage more patient and survivor advocates — both individuals and groups. We're also identifying WRAD Regional Champions (RCs) from around the world to help tailor approaches relevant to their local populations and needs. In this way, we plan to expand the reach of WRAD and our Tool Kit with resources, available in numerous languages. We welcome more RCs to join WRAD! Please sign up at the website.

In 2026, we envisage WRAD will improve on all the metrics listed above. More importantly, we anticipate the WRAD movement will become recognized by more organizations and individuals around the world. We want to support and inspire all radiotherapy advocates to use the day to elevate messages about the vital role of radiotherapy and the gaps in people receiving it. Amplifying radiotherapy advocacy efforts will help strengthen initiatives aimed at decision makers and governments by showcasing the importance of investing in radiotherapy services.

What can the radiotherapy community do to get involved in WRAD in 2026 and start planning for September 7?

We're encouraging radiotherapy supporters of all types — patients and patient/survivor groups, radiation medicine/radiation oncology organizations and services, and industry supporters — to visit the WRAD website at www.worldradiotherapy.org and sign up to our contact list.

We'd like all groups, big and small, to officially partner with WRAD. Add your logo and website link to ours. ASTRO proudly already supports WRAD, along with ESTRO, EORTIC, ACR, AORTIC, RANZCR, RCR and around 75 more societies. Follow and share the WRAD socials (see website) and tag us on yours.

Start thinking about an event or activity to mark WRAD 2026 and register your plans on the website or by emailing [email protected]. Your "event" might be anything from a morning tea to something bigger, for example, a radiotherapy education symposium or "Fun Run." Last year, the new physics association AMSTRO chose to launch their new organization to coincide with WRAD 2025! Many other ideas and resources are available on the WRAD site. If you have media/comms teams at your institution, inform them of your plans for WRAD so they can help create a media plan to promote your activities.

Together with "One Voice for Radiotherapy," we can all contribute to improving the care of people with cancer through ensuring everyone recognizes radiotherapy as a safe, effective treatment and that all people who'd benefit, have timely access to it.