Cancer patients thrilled by pioneering treatment arrival in the North East
The site, near Bedlington, will be only the second in the country to offer proton beam therapy
It's hoped that after moving one step closer here in the North East, a new pioneering cancer treatment will be rolled out across the country.
The machine that provides proton beam therapy has been installed at the new Rutherford cancer treatment centre, near Bedlington, Northumberland - only the second of it's kind in the country.
Proton beam therapy is said to be better than the traditional radiotherapy, when it's suitable, because it's laser-precision means it doesn't harm healthy cells near the cancer.
Professor Karol Sikora, medical director for Proton Partners - the group behind the treatment - said:
"This advanced proton therapy technology will transform the lives of many thousands of cancer patients with its very precise form of treatment and will mean that patients who need proton beam therapy will not have to travel abroad in future to receive it."
Mike Moran, chief executive of Proton Partners, said:
"What matters most is ensuring that the UK is providing people with the best treatments available and, sadly, that hasn't been happening. Thankfully, that is now changing and we put patient choice at the very top of our priorities."
Seven-year-old Marcus Towse, from Ingleby Barwick, is set to travel to the United States this year to receive the proton beam therapy he needs, paid for by the NHS.
His mam, Tina, told us that she thought it was "absolutely amazing" that from 2019, families like hers would be able to receive the treatment in the North East - and not go through the "massive upheaval" her family is currently going through, ahead of Marcus' 10-week stay in the States.