New state of the art radiotherapy machine to support world class treatment for cancer patients
Patients at Weston Park Cancer Hospital are set to benefit from a third new state-of-the-art radiotherapy machine (linac).
The cutting edge machine comes hot on the heels of two other radiotherapy machines and two CT scanners which were installed at Weston Park Hospital earlier this year.
The new £1.9m radiotherapy machine which will be located at Weston Park Hospital targets tumours in a short space of time with pinpoint precision and accuracy. It is set to benefit 1.8 million people living in Sheffield and the surrounding region including Chesterfield.
The new machine, which will replace an older version, means Weston Park Hospital will have seven linac machines which can all deliver some of the world’s most advanced radiotherapy treatments.
The linac machine produces radiation which can be precisely shaped and controlled to give high doses to cancer cells while avoiding healthy tissue. The latest generation of machine also allows CT scans to be taken of the patient before they are treated, enabling Radiographers to target the cancer to the millimetre and provide the best possible chance of recovery to patients. Radiotherapy is involved in the treatment of about 40% of cancer patients who are cured of the disease.
Dr Stephen Tozer-Loft, Head of Radiotherapy Physics at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, said: “Radiotherapy has developed into an extremely technologically advanced, cost-effective and safe way of treating cancer and so this further investment in the latest technology is great news for our patients."
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACT:
John Birch, Communications Officer
Tel: 0114 226 8989
Email: john.birch@sth.nhs.uk
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