New £8m radiotherapy equipment to benefit cancer patients

The Berkshire Cancer Centre makes its largest investment since opening in 1989

CANCER patients in West Berkshire are expected to benefit from an £8 million boost for equipment for two nearby medical facilities.

Two new Linear Accelerator (Linacs) machines, which cost in the region of £4m each, will deliver radiotherapy treatment to patients with cancer.

One of the machines is to be installed at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading and the other will be installed at the new Royal Berkshire Bracknell Clinic when it opens in June.

Work has already started to install a new concrete bunker for one of the Linacs at the Royal Berkshire Hospital which will be located behind the old London Road front entrance.

It is due to be in operation later in the year.

The combined £8m represents the largest investment in the Berkshire Cancer Centre since its opening in 1989.

Consultant Oncologist at Berkshire Cancer Centre and President of the Royal College of Radiologists, Jane Barrett, from West Berkshire, said: “The ‘Year of Radiotherapy' is a national campaign aiming to put radiotherapy on the agenda and help people understand that it is a modern treatment that is advancing all the time.

“For example new, more targeted radiotherapy techniques such as Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) or Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) are transforming the lives of cancer patients.

“These new ways of delivering radiotherapy mean cancer cells are targeted more precisely, increasing cure rates, and patients experience fewer side effects.”