Revolutionary cancer therapy
Reporter WEIGHING the same as a plane, this hi-tech piece of equipment is set to revolutionise treatment for cancer patients.
The 55-tonne proton beam therapy machine was yesterday lowered into position by a crane at The Rutherford Cancer Centre in Bomarsund near Blyth, Northumberland.
The cyclotron delivers a special radiotherapy which British families often have to pay thousands overseas for.
The proton beam therapy targets certain cancers very precisely, increasing success rates and reducing side-effects.
It causes less damage to healthy tissue surrounding the tumour and is often used to treat tumours in children, who are more at risk of lasting damage because their organs are still growing.
Mike Moran, chief executive of Proton Partners, said: “We are very proud, particularly in the aftermath of World Cancer Day on Sunday, to be bringing proton beam therapy to the North East.
“We formed Proton Partners three years ago on World Cancer Day with a firm commitment to help transform cancer treatment in the UK.
“What matters most is ensuring that the UK is providing people with the best treatments available and, sadly, the country has not been delivering.
“Thankfully that is now changing and we put patient choice at the very top of our priorities.”
The cancer centre will open in May and provide treatments, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and imaging.
Patients will then be able to receive the proton beam therapy from around the end of the year.
It will be available to medically insured private patients, self-paying patients and those referred by the NHS.
Professor Karol Sikora, medical director of Proton Partners International, said: “The delivery of this proton beam therapy machine will make innovative and groundbreaking cancer treatment available to patients across England.
“This advanced proton therapy technology will transform the lives of many thousands of cancer patients with its very precise form of treatment. It will mean that patients who need proton beam therapy will not have to travel abroad in future to receive it.”
Proton Partners International is building two other centres in Reading and Liverpool.