CANCER patients in East Lancashire will soon have better access to life-saving treatment.

Secretary of State for Health Frank Dobson visited the Royal Preston Hospital yesterday to cut the turf for a £3.7 million extension to the Lancashire and Lakeland Radiotherapy Unit.

The development will house a third Linear Accelerator -- equipment to deliver radiotherapy treatment -- and will allow the Unit to extend its services to the people of East Lancashire.

The Unit treats 1,800 patients each year, but the development means 1,000 East Lancashire patients will also be able to be treated in Preston.

Building work starts this winter and will be complete by December 1999.

Six extra full-time radiographers and two clinical oncologists will be recruited to run the extended service.

The new development will also house an additional Computer Tomography Scanner and provide a counselling area, more clinical offices, a medical physics room and machine maintenance room.

Brian Booth, Chairman of Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We are delighted that the Secretary of State accepted our invitation to visit this very important development of our cancer services.

"During his visit he toured the radiotherapy unit and saw the excellent work our staff are doing in caring for patients with cancer.

"A third Linear Accelerator will allow our medical team to treat many more patients each year. It will establish Preston as the North West's third Cancer Centre."

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