WHIPPS Cross University Hospital has become the first in London to trial a radical new therapy for the side-effects of cancer treatment.

A 71-year-old woman was given hyperbaric oxygen therapy, usually given to deep sea divers and football players, at the Leytonstone hospital by consultant Dr Mihaela Ignatescu.

She has suffered from stomach cramps and violent diarrhoea since 1996, after being given radiotherapy when her cancer spread from her ovaries to her colon.

The patient, who did not wish to be named because of the nature of her condition, said: “I had no side-effects for about three years but as time went on my symptoms gradually became intolerable to the point where I was taken on several occasions to A and E.”

The trial, run by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden Hospital, began on August 24 and aims to help patients who have had radiotherapy for pelvic cancer.

The patient added: “I consider myself very privileged to take part in the trial and in this way help in the research to hopefully find a cure for pelvic radiation disease in the near future.”

Sufferers of pelvic cancer are sometimes left with unpleasant side-effects after receiving treatment, including diarrhoea and stomach cramps.

A recent study found evidence that hyperbaric, or high pressure, oxygen therapy may be able to reduce these side-effects, although there is no known cure.

The therapy is usually used to treat scuba divers who suffer the decompression sickness and has also been given injured footballers to help them heal more quickly.

Patients sit in a sealed chamber and breathe 100 per cent oxygen, with periodic breaks, while the air pressure around them is slowly increased.

It lasts about half an hour, after which the air in the chamber is gradually returned to normal.

The trial is also being carried out in centres in Cardiff, Chichester, Great Yarmouth, Hull, north London, Plymouth and the Wirral.