A GRANDMOTHER from Salisbury has received groundbreaking treatment that is at the forefront of the fight against cancer.

Lady Ruth Hawley, 75, had a rare form of eye cancer called ocular melanoma and faced having it removed but instead opted for the radical proton beam therapy.

The therapy gained national media attention following the story of Ashya King, the boy from Portsmouth who was taken to the Czech Republic for treatment initially without the consent of his doctors.

However the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre on the Wirral also offers the treatment, which is a form of radiotherapy that causes a lot less damage to surrounding tissue than the traditional therapy.

Although it is a weaker form of thearpy then the type being performed by doctors in the Czech Republic on Ashya King. 

Lady Hawley said: “Having lived and worked in hot climates for a number of years when I was younger, and being fair skinned and blue eyed, I was more prone to developing this type of tumour.

“In those days we didn’t know the importance of protecting your skin and eyes from the sun.”

A proton beam, due to its well-defined shape, allows tumours of any size, shape or position to be treated with very little effect to surrounding areas.

The treatment sterilises the cancer cells in the tumour, such that it stops growing and begins to shrink away. This means that the eye does not need to be removed.

In February this year, she had initial surgery at Moorfields Hospital which placed markers at the back of her eye which are needed to make sure the treatment is accurate.

Proton Beam therapy was then delivered over the course of one week. Each daily session took about half an hour.

She added: “Post treatment check-ups indicate that the tumour appears to be shrinking. It is likely that I will still lose sight in that eye, as the tumour was close to the optic nerve.

“However, it has meant that I have not had to have the eye itself removed which has been a saving grace.

“Life has continued much as before. I have a very active life and a big family of four children and eight grandchildren. I still love to travel, though I take greater precautions now and consciously wear dark glasses when I’m in the sun.”