JUNE is Cancer Survivors Month, a time of celebration, reflection, and deep gratitude.
It’s a moment to recognise not only the strength of those who have faced cancer, but also the many hands that guided them through it.
Behind every survivor’s journey stands a multidisciplinary team of professionals: oncologists, nurses, psychologists, dieticians, medical physicists and among them, often quietly working in the background, are radiation therapists.
These are the skilled hands behind the beam, the steady presence throughout treatment and the compassionate faces patients grow to trust.
Radiation therapists are highly-trained healthcare professionals who specialise in delivering radiation therapy, a cornerstone in the management of more than half of all cancer cases.
But their work is not just technical.
While they ensure each beam of radiation is delivered with upmost precision, they also walk with patients through some of their most vulnerable moments.
For weeks on end, patients return for their daily treatment and it is the radiation therapists who greet them, position them, listen to them and comfort them.
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Their role goes beyond machines, it’s mostly human.
“I remember one patient who barely spoke at the start of treatment,” one radiation therapist reflects.
“By the final session, she was smiling, talking and even brought us homemade buns. That connection meant everything to both of us.”
Survivorship doesn’t begin when treatment ends.
It begins the moment a patient hears: “You have cancer.” From that instant, the care they receive, from diagnosis to recovery, forms a bridge to survival. Radiation therapists are part of every step of that bridge.
They are trained not only to deliver complex therapies, but also to adjust to each patient’s specific needs.
Their consistency allows them to notice the patient’s wellbeing throughout the journey to the finish line, both physically and psychologically.
And in many cases, their presence is what patients remember most.
“You never forget the radiation therapist who held your hand, who remembered your name or who noticed when your smile faded,” says a survivor of breast cancer.
The work of radiation therapists sits at the intersection of science and empathy.
They must master the technical aspects of radiation treatment, yet they also have the emotional intelligence to comfort patients facing fear, side effects and uncertainty.
And while they don’t always appear in public awareness or medical headlines, their impact is undeniable.
Every precise beam, every gentle reassurance, every calm presence in the treatment room adds up to something bigger: The possibility of life beyond cancer.
As we honoured survivors this past June, we should have lifted the veil on those who stood beside them, the radiation therapists who ensured treatment was not just given, but given with care.
They are professionals who chose a career that demands both technical brilliance and deep compassion.
We call on healthcare leaders, academic institutions and policymakers to give radiation therapists the recognition, support and investment they deserve, not only for what they do, but for what their presence means to those they serve.
Cancer challenges the body, but it also reveals the strength of community.
And in that community, radiation therapists hold a quiet, but powerful place. Their contribution to survivorship isn’t loud, but it is lasting.
So, as we leave Cancer Survivors Month behind, let us celebrate not only the survivors, but also the ones who showed up everyday to help them to survive.
- Michelle C Madzudzo and Mitchell Shumba are from Talk Cancer Zim
