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New cancer care centre opens in region
A WORLD-leading centre for cancer patients has opened in the region.
The Northern Centre for Cancer Care, at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, will deliver more than 100,000 treatments a year to patients from across North East England.
It is the only centre in the UK to boast a full range of the latest radiotherapy equipment, including the country's first Primatom machine, which allows staff to treat tumours to the highest degree of speed and accuracy.
It will also offer TomoTherapy, which is a scanner and treatment machine.
Other specialist services include continuous hyper-fractionated accelerated radiotherapy treatment for some lung cancers.
It is also a leading centre for the treatment of thyroid, paediatric and rare skin cancers.
Sir Leonard Fenwick, chief executive of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We are extremely proud of the new Northern Centre for Cancer Care, which is modern and contemporary, but has the ambience, environment and feeling of care throughout.
"NCCC incorporates a major research facility as well as having one of the shortest waiting times for treatment in the UK, thus ensuring the very best outcomes for those using our services.
"With 16 highly-experienced multi-disciplinary teams, we have the expertise to treat some of the rarest and most complex cancers in the best possible surroundings."
Four hundred patients a day are treated at the centre, including 20 from South Tyneside.
The building has already won the prestigious national Building Better Healthcare Awards for Best Hospital Design. Clinical director Dr Tony Branson said: "Our state-of-the-art building houses the very latest technology.
"Our new generation of radiotherapy treatment machines mean that the treatment time, is reduced significantly.
"For example, treatment time for a patient receiving radiotherapy for prostate cancer is now about four minutes, rather than the 11 it was previously."
* A new treatment is to be made available for patients across the region with certain types of blood cancer.
The North of England Cancer Drug Approvals Group has agreed that the drug Plerixafor should be made available for patients with lymphoma and myeloma.
It means they can have a transplant of stem cells and increase their chances of survival.
* Do you think this treatment might benefit you? Contact the newsdesk on 427 4858.
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Weather for South Shields
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
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