Super beam centre’s summer start

CONSTRUCTION on a state-of-the art proton beam therapy cancer treatment centre at the Christie in Manchester is to start this summer.

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust will be one of only two UK centres offering proton beam therapy to cancer patients. Proton beams can be aimed very precisely at tumours while leaving unaffected tissue nearby undamaged, leading to fewer side effects and long-term problems.

The £125 million centre, at Christie’s Withington site, will treat up to 750 patients a year once it opens in 2018.