Fighting cancer at the double

GIVING Oldham a lift . . . riggers steadied the heaviest 2.2 tonne piece as it was unloaded on site

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And you made it happen

TWO hi-tech cancer-fighting radiotherapy machines, each costing £1.3 million, have arrived at the Royal Oldham Hospital — thanks to generous fund-raisers.

Oldhamers helped make the move possible with their efforts in support of the £100,000 Christie at Oldham campaign — which at the last count topped £70,000.

The state-of-the-art devices are known as linear accelerators. They use radiation treatment. Crucially, they can destroy cancer cells while sparing the surrounding normal tissue. The machines will be computer-controlled and have a direct link to the Christie Hospital network when the Royal Oldham’s new radiotherapy unit opens early next year.

Patients will still have their treatment planned by doctors at the Christie’s Withington site.

Details of the radiotherapy treatment they need will be sent to Oldham via the network.

Philip Turner, project manager for the Christie, said: “The link will be critical.

“There will be two separate systems linking Oldham and Withington so there will always be a back-up.”

The devices will be used to treat cancer patients at Christie’s radiotherapy unit, currently under construction at the Royal Oldham Hospital.

Specialist engineers and riggers, from manufacturers Elektra, travelled up from the firm’s Crawley plant in West Sussex to unpack the six-tonne machines and reassemble them on site like an enormous jigsaw puzzle.

Lorraine Dorey, project manager from Elektra, explained that their sheer weight and size meant they had to be dismantled for delivery.

It will take engineers two weeks to get the machines in working order before Christie experts can begin the long process of commissioning them.

Each linear accelerator will be installed in a concrete bunker with 8ft-thick walls, designed to contain radiation.

The treatment area has been set out like a maze, with twists and turns, to prevent any radiation leaks.

Before they are used for patients, the machines will undergo rigorous testing and fine-tuning to ensure they are safe, deliver the correct doses and that radiotherapy beams can be accurately shaped and directed.

The machines have a life-span of 10 years. Software will be continually updated to keep up with advances in the field.

The new radiotherapy unit is expected to be open early next year.